LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY   OF  CALIFORN 


Ktceired  --r-S^,    iSS     , 

Acffssipiis  ATo.  2.  &  <f  J  3       .S//.'//  .\'n. 


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THE 


LIFE 


POLITICAL    OPINIONS 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN, 


VICE    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


WILLIAM    M.    HOLLAND, 


SECOND    EDI 


HARTFORD. 

BELKNAP  &  HAMERSLEY. 
1836. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1835,  by 

BELKNAP    &    HAMERSLEY, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Connecticut. 


CASE,  TIFFANY  &  CO,.  PRINTERS. 


PREFACE, 


ASIDE  from  the  present  relation  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  the  fact 
of  his  having  risen  in  times  of  peace,  from  the  or 
dinary  level  of  life,  to  the'second  office  in  the  gov 
ernment,  renders  a  view  of  his  principles,  and  of 
the  incidents  of  his  personal  history,  a  matter  of 
reasonable  curiosity. 

The  author  lias  therefore,  devoted  a  period  of 
entire  vacation  from  his  ordinary  duties,  to  the  col 
lection  and  arrangement  of  such  materials  as  may 
fully  exhibit  the  political  sentiments  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  together  with  such  details  of  his  personal 
history,  as  may  be  published  with  a  due  respect  for 
private  feelings.  In  doing  this,  it  has  not  been  the 
design  of  the  writer  merely  to  contribute  to  the 


iv  PREFACE. 

political  elevation  of  any  man;  he  has  aimed, 
rather  to  display  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the 
republican  party  in  this  country,  and  to  exhibit,  by 
the  history  of  an  individual,  the  nature  of  the  re 
lation  which  that  party  sustains  to  its  public  men. 
He  has  endeavored,  in  this  way,  to  throw  some 
light  upon  the  character  of  our  institutions,  and  to 
illustrate,  in  some  degree,  the  spirit  of  the  nation 
and  the  age. 

The  philosophy  of  history  is  more  valuable  than 
its  facts.  Remarkable,  as  are  the  incidents  in  the 
life  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  they  would  not  have  at 
tracted  the  particular  attention  of  the  writer,  if  he 
had  not  believed,  that  in  laying  them  before  the 
public,  an  opportunity  would  be  furnished  of  dis 
cussing  political  principles  which  are  of  vital  im 
portance  to  the  prosperity  of  our  country.  The 
author,  therefore,  has  no  where  in  the  following 
pages,  affected  to  conceal  his  strong  political  bias  ; 
though  he  has  conscientiously  endeavored,  never 
to  be  led  by  it,  into  the  suppression  or  misrepre 
sentation  of  facts.  If  the  conclusions  which  the 
writer  has  drawn  from  those  facts,  be  not  approv 
ed  of  by  the  reader,  he  is  at  liberty  to  form  his 
own ;  the  means  of  forming  them  have  been  faith 
fully  laid  before  him. 

AS  the  author  has  had  recourse  only  to  sources 


PREFACE.  v 

of  information  which  are  accessible  to  all,  he  has 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  consult  Mr.  Van  Buren 
with  regard  to  the  propriety  of  his  undertaking. 
That  gentleman,  therefore,  is  not,  in  any  sense,  re 
sponsible  for  the  opinions  advanced  in  the  present 
work,  except  such  as  are  fairly  expressed  by  ex 
tracts  from  his  own  writings  and  speeches^ 

The  great  obligations  of  the  present  writer  to  the 
Honorable  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  will  be  obvious  to 
all  who  have  noticed  the  ability  and  zeal,  with 
which  he  has,  on  several  occasions,  defended  the 
character  of  his  distinguished  friend.  Among 
those  who  have  kindly  facilitated  the  collection  of 
materials  for  this  work,  the  Honorable  James  Van- 
derpoel,  of  Albany,  deserves  the  particular  thanks 
of  the  author. 

In  submitting  to  the  public,  this  contribution  to 
the  support  of  democratic  principles,  the  author  is 
well  aware  that  he  shall  not  escape  the  censure  of 
those,  who  anticipate  the  destruction  of  all  politi 
cal  and  religious  truth,  by  the  leveling  spirit  of  de 
mocracy.  Without  questioning  the  sincerity  of 
their  melancholy  forebodings,  he  would  adopt  in 
reply,  the  language  ascribed  to  an  eminent  states 
man  and  philosopher  of  the  present  age  ;* — "  If 
by  democracy,  you  understand  that  progress  of  in- 

*  M.  Roger  Collard, 


vi  PREFACE. 

dustry,  art,  law,  manners,  and  light,  which  has  now 
for  some  centuries,  been  constantly  increasing,  I 
am  well  pleased  with  such  democracy  ;  and,  for 
my  own  part,  instead  of  blaspheming  the  age  in 
which  I  live,  I  feel  grateful  to  Providence  for  hav 
ing  assigned  my  birth  to  an  epoch,  in  which  God 
has  been  pleased  to  call  a  greater  number  of  his 
creatures  than  heretofore,  to  a  participation  in  the 
virtues,  the  intelligence,  and  the  manners,  which 
had  been  heretofore  reserved  but  for  a  few." 


PREFACE 

TO    THE 

SECOND    EDI  TION, 


IN  the  present  edition  of  this  volume,  some  er 
rors  which  occurred  in  the  former,  have  been  cor 
rected  :  they  related  chiefly  to  matters  of  small  im 
portance.  The  principal  additions  are  two  letters 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  which  have  been  written  since 
the  former  publication.  One  of  these  letters  ex 
presses  his  views  of  the  constitutional  power  of 
Congress  over  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  and  of  the  expediency  of  exer 
cising  that  power.  The  other  relates  to  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  and,  incidentally,  to  the 
granting  of  Bank  charters  by  State  Legislatures. 
Both  letters  are  important,  and  are  written  with 
the  discrimination  and  ability  which  characterizes 
every  thing  that  comes  from  the  pen  of  their  au- 
1 


viii  PREFACE. 

thor.  The  latter,  in  particular,  expresses  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  calm,  but  firm  opposition,  not  only  to  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  but  also  to  that  "  im 
providence  of  State  Legislation"  which  threaten* 
to  entail  upon  the  country,  the  evils,  from  which, 
by  the  termination  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
there  was  a  hope  of  escaping.  Considering  the 
relation  of  M  r.  Van  Buren  to  public  affairs,  it  is  a 
matter  of  sincere  congratulation  that  his  views  of 
banking  are  so  strictly  in  accordance  with  those  of 
radical  democracy. 

The  present  work  has  been  the  subject  of  some 
candid,  and  much  uncandid  remark,  on  the  part  of 
those  who  dissent  from  its  doctrines.  No  impor 
tant  errors,  however,  in  the  statement  of  facts, 
have  been  pointed  out;  and  the  author  has  seen 
nothing,  in  the  strictures  which  have  been  made 
upon  his  sentiments,  to  induce  him  to  modify  or 
change  them  in  the  present  edition.  He  is  still 
open  to  conviction  ;  but  as  his  opinions  have  been 
deliberately  formed,  without  reference  to  any  tem 
porary,  political  agitation  or  canvass,  he  cannot  be 
induced  either  to  abandon  or  conceal  them,  by  the 
violence  of  party  denunciation,  or  from  any  other 
motive  than  a  conviction  of  their  unsoundness. 

The  most  careless  observer  must  have  noticed 
that  one  result  has  followed  the  publication  of  the 


PREFACE.  -^ 

volume.  It  contains  so  full  an  exposition  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  opinions  on  all  leading  political  ques 
tions,  that  the  charge  of  concealing  his  sentiments, 
heretofore  so  often  reiterated  by  the  partizan  press, 
has,  in  a  great  measure,  been  silenced.  Whether 
those  sentiments  are  such  as  to  meet  the  approval 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  is  a  question 
which  must  soon  be  determined. 

Hartford  July  1,  1836. 


CONTENTS, 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  parentage  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  his  educa 
tion  preparatory  to  the  study  of  Law,  .  ,  13 

CHAPTER    II. 

The  professional  education  of  Mr.  Van  Bur  en  be 
fore  his  admission  to  the  Bar,  ...  25 

CHAPTER    III. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  professional  career,  in  Kinder- 
hook,  from  the  period  of  his  admission  to  the  Bar, 
in  1803,  to  his  removal  to  the  city  of  Hudson,  in 
1308, 33 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  professional  course  from  the  time 
of  his  removal  to  the  city  of  Hudson,  in  the  winter 
of  1808-9,  until  his  final  withdrawal  from  the 
bar,  in  1828,  ....:.  57 

1* 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   V. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en's  first  agency  in  political  affairs. 
Is  active  in  supporting1  the  election  of  Jefferson. 
Is  delegate  to  a  county  convention  in  his  nine 
teenth  year.  His  first  appearance  as  an  elector. 
Supports  Lewis  for  Governor  in  1804 :  and  Tomp- 
kins  in  1807.  Is  appointed  Surrogate  of  Colum 
bia  County.  Opposes  the  renewal  of  the  charter 
of  the  Bank  of  the  U.  S.  and  the  chartering  of 
the'JBank  of  America.  Is  elected  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate,'  75 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Mr.  Van  Bureri>s  course  in  the  Senate  of  New  York 
in  regard  to  the  War  and  the  support  of  De  Witt 

Clinton  for  the  Presidency.  Supports  Tompkins 
for  Governor  in  1813.  His  energetic  support  of 

the  War, 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Mr.  Van  Burerts  defence  of  the  Classification  bill. 
Is  appointed  Attorney  General  of  New  York.— 
Gives  an  efficient  support  to  the  project  for  the 
Erie  and  Champlain  Canals,        .        .        .          109 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  acquiesces  in  the  first  election 
of  De  Witt  Clinton,  as  Governor.  Opposes  his 
re-election.  Is  removed  from  the  office  of  At 
torney  General  Separates  from  Mr.  Clinton 
and  his  political  friends.  His  encomium  upon 
Mr.  Clinton's  character  at  a  meeting  of  the  New 
York  Congressional  delegation  in  Washington,  119 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Mr.  Van  Buretfs  support  of  Rufus  King  for  Sen- 


CONTENTS. 


Xlll 


ator  of  the  United  States.  His  connection  with 
the  proceedings  in  Albany,  and  in  the  Legisla 
ture  of  New  York,  in  regard  to  the  Missouri  ques 
tion,  127 

CHAPTER   X. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  is  elected  a  Senator  of  the  United 
States.  His  participation  in  the  Convention  to 
amend  the  Constitution  of  New  York.  Speech  on 
vesting  veto  power  in  the  Governor.  On  the 
length  oj  Governor's  tenure  of  office.  On  prefix 
ing  a  bill  of  rights.  On  the  elective  franchise. 
Vote  on  admitting  colored  people  to  be  electors. 
Speech  on  the  appointment  of  Justices  of  the 
Peace.  On  the  re-organization  of  the  Supreme 
Court  so  as  to  eject  the  incumbents,  .  145 

CHAPTER   XI. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  course  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  His  views  on  the  subject  of  Im 
prisonment  for  Debt, 201 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  proposes  to  amend  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  so  as  to  keep  the  choice  of 
President  and  Vice  President  from  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Extracts  from  his  speech 
on  that  subject,  ......  207 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en's  proposed  amendment  of  the  Judi 
ciary  system  of  the  United  States.  His  speech 
on  the  Judiciary  system,  ....  215 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Speech  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  the  establishment  of 
a  uniform  system  of  Bankruptcy.  Brief  re 
marks  on  the  public  lands.  Extracts  from  his 
speech  on  the  colonial  trade,  ....  229 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Opposition  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Panama  Mis 
sion.  Extract  from  one  of  his  speeches  on  that 
question, 245 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en's  opinions  on  the  constitutionality 
and  expediency  of  appropriations  of  money  by  the 
General  Government  for  Internal  Improvements,  261 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Sentiments  of  Mr.  Van  Bur  en  with  regard  to  pro 
tective  duties.  Votes  for  the  Tariff  bill  in  1824, 
and  in  1828,  by  instructions  from  his  constituents. 
Extract  from  his  letter  to  the  committee  at  Shoc- 
co  Springs,  • 269 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en's  support  of  a  strict  construction  of 
the  constitution,  with  extracts  from  his  speech  on 
the  power  of  the  Vice  President  to  call  to  order, 
for  words  spoken  in  debate,  in  the  Senate,        .     275 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Pernicious  effects  of  the  system  of  incorporated 
Banking  companies  in  the  United  States.  Op 
position  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  extension  of 
this  system  in  the  state  of  New  York.  His  oppo 
sition  to  the  bank  of  the  United  States.  Letter 


CONTENTS.  xv 

to  certain  gentlemen  in  Cincinnati,  on  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  and  on  the  chartering  of 
State  Banks, 293 

CHAPTER   XX. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en's  support  of  the  bill  providing  for 
the  surviving-  officers  of  the  Revolution,  Sum 
mary  mew  of  his  sentiments  on  various  political 
questions.  His  constant  observance  of  the  will  of 
the  people.  Right  and  capacity  of  the  people  to 
direct  the  administration  of  the  government.  309 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en  supports  Mr.  Crawford  for  the 
Presidency,  in  1824.  Opposes  the  administration 
of  Mr.  Adams.  Sustains  General  Jackson  for 
the  Presidency,  in  1828.  Is  elected  Governor  of 
the  state  of  New  York,  and  resigns  his  seat  in 
the  Senate.  Introduces  the"  safety  fund  system,"  317 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en  is  appointed  Secretary  of  State  of 
the  United  States.  Situation  of  our  foreign  re 
lations,  especially  with  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  successful  administration  of  the  De 
partment  of  foreign  Affairs.  Resigns  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State 323 

CHAPTE.R    XXIII. 

Mr.  Van  Bur  en  is  nominated  minister  to  the  Court 
of  St.  James.  The  rejection  of  his  nomination 
by  the  Senate.  Extract  from  his  instructions 
to  Mr.  McLane.  Correspondence  of  the  republi 
can  members  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
with  the  President,  on  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren, 333 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Vice  Presi 
dency  of  the  United  States.  His  election  to  that 
office.  His  sentiments  on  the  interference  of  the 
General  Government  and  of  the  free  states,  with 
the  question  of  slavery.  Letter  on  the  power  of 
Congress  over  slavery  in  the  District  of  Colum 
bia,  343 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States  by  a  national  con 
vention.  Hie  letter  accepting  the  nomination,  357 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Conclusion,        ..,,.,,          363 


LIFE 


MARTIN     VAN     BUREN 


LIFE 


OF 


MARTIN   VAN    BUREN 


CHAPTER    I. 


TVie  parentage  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  his  education 
preparatory  to  the  study  of  Law. 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  is  not  indebted  for  his  eminence  to 
the  wealth  or  distinction  of  his  family.  His  fa 
ther,  Abraham  Van  Buren,  was  a  farmer  of  mode 
rate  estate,  in  the  town  of  Kinderhook,  county  of 
Columbia,  and  state  of  New  York.  He  was  de 
scended  from  one  of  those  families,  who,  at  an 
early  period  in  the  history  of  this  country,  emigra 
ted  from  Holland  and  settled  in  the  ancient  town 
of  Kinderhook.  He  is  represented  to  have  been 
an  upright,  amiable,  and  intelligent  man.  of  strong 
common  sense,  and  distinguished  for  his  pacific 
disposition. 

2 


14  THE   LIFE  OF 

The  maiden  name  of  the  mother  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  Hoes ;  she  also  was  of  Dutch  descent. 
The  name  was  originally  Goes,  and  will  be  recog 
nized  as  a  name  of  distinction,  by  those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  history  of  the  Netherlands. 
She  was  twice  married.  The  name  of  her  first 
husband  was  Van  Alen,  a  gentleman  of  respecta 
bility,  by  whom  she  had  two  sons,  (John  I.  and 
James  I.  Van  Alen,)  and  a  daughter,  all  of  whom 
are  now  dead.  Both  the  sons,  and  especially  John, 
the  elder,  assisted  and  encouraged  their  younger 
half  brother  during  his  professional  studies.  James 
was  bred  to  the  profession  of  the  law,  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  convention  to  amend  the  constitution  of 
the  State  of  New-York  in  1802,  was  afterwards 
Surrogate  of  the  county  of  Columbia,  and  was 
elected  a  member  of  Congress  in  1808.  He  was 
afterwards  a  judge  of  the  county  court  and  again 
Surrogate  of  the  county  at  the  time  of  his  decease. 
When  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  he  received  him  into  partnership  in  the 
practice  of  the  Law. 

The  mother  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  distantly 
connected  with  the  family  of  his  father  before  their 
marriage.  She  is  said,  by  all  who  knew  her,  to 
have  been  distinguished  for  her  amiable  disposi 
tion,  her  exemplary  piety,  and  more  than  ordina 
ry  sagacity.* 

*This  lady  survived  until  1818  ;  the  father  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
died  in  1814.  Both  lived  to  see  the  brilliant  success  of  their  son 
at  the  bar,  and  the  commencement  of  his  political  distinction. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  15 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN  is  the  eldest  son  of  these 
parents.  He  was  born  at  Kinderhook,  on  the  5th 
day  of  December,  1782. 

At  an  early  age  he  exhibited  indications  of  a  su 
perior  understanding.  His  opportunities  for  ear 
ly  instruction  were  limited,  probably  on  account  of 
the  moderate  property  of  his  father,  who  had  two 
other  sons  and  two  daughters.* 

After  acquiring  the  rudiments  of  an  English  ed 
ucation,  he  became  a  student  in  the  academy,  in 
his  native  village.  He  there  made  considerable 
progress  in  the  various  branches  of  English  litera 
ture,  and  gained  some  knowledge  of  Latin.  It  may 
be  inferred,  however,  that  all  these  acquisitions 
were  not  great  in  amount,  as  he  left  the  academy, 
when  but  fourteen  years  of  age,  to  begin  the  stu 
dy  of  his  profession. 

At  that  early  period  he  evinced  a  strong  passion 
for  extempore  speaking  and  literary  composition. 
The  native  characteristics  of  his  mind,  which  have 
since  so  much  distinguished  their  possessor,  began 
thus  early  to  display  their  activity.  The  declam 
ation  of  the  school-boy  was  destined  to  ripen  into 
the  manly  eloquence  of  the  advocate  and  states 
man,  and  his  youthful  facility  in  composition,  to  be 
formed  into  a  compact,  vigorous  and  copious  style. 

Even  at  that  early  age,  too,  Mr.  Van  Buren  is 

*These  are  still  living,  viz.  Lawrence,  a  farmer,  residing  on  the 
family  estate,  in  Kiuderhook ;  Abraham,  a  Lawyer,  in  Hudson  , 
and  Surrogate  of  Columbia  County;  and  two  daughters,  one  of 
whom  is  married  to  Barent  Hoes,  Esq.  brother  of  the  late  wife  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren, 


1C  THE  LIFE  OF 

represented  by  those  who  knew  him,  to  have  had 
a  spirit  of  observation,  with  regard  to  public  events 
and  the  personal  dispositions  and  characters  of 
those  around  him,  which  gave  an  earnest  of  his 
future  proficiency  in  the  science  of  politics  and  of 
the  human  heart.  He  was  not  wont  to  receive 
opinions  upon  mere  authority.  Every  proposition 
was  examined  before  it  received  his  concurrence 
or  dissent.  A  fondness  for  argumentative  discus 
sion  also  appeared  ;  a  native  element  in  his  char 
acter,  which  was  afterwards  formed  by  discipline 
and  reflection  into  the  habit  of  vigorous  and  clear 
reasoning,  that  characterized  his  riper  years. 

Such  was  the  preparation  with  which  Martin 
Van  Buren,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  commenced  the 
study  of  the  Law.  What  an  encouraging  exam 
ple  does  his  subsequent  success  present  to  the 
young  men  of  our  country !  Few  are  denied  ad 
vantages  of  education  fully  equal  to  those  which 
he  possessed. 

It  is  an  interesting  matter  of  speculation  to  con 
jecture  what  would  have  been  the  effect  of  a  regu 
lar  education,  so  called,  upon  the  mind  of  the  sub 
ject  of  this  memoir.  He  has  shown  himself  to  be 
a  profound  reasoner,  at  least  in  his  profession,  yet 
he  probably  knew  little,  in  early  life,  of  the  artifi 
cial  rules  which  have  professed  to  teach  the  art  of 
thinking,  from  the  days  of  Thales  to  those  of 
Thomas  Brown.  He  evinces  freedom,  accuracy 
and  copiousness  in  the  use  of  language,  yet  he  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  but  a  slight  acquaintance  with 
any  of  the  languages  of  antiquity.  He  has  acquir- 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  17 

ed  habits  of  patient  and  accurate  research,  but  not 
from  the  diagrams  of  Euclid,  or  the  mystic  steps 
of  analytic  mathematics. 

Such  examples  of  distinguished  success  ought, 
perhaps,  to  excite  some  more  thorough  inquiry  in 
fo  the  usefulness,  in  all  cases,  of  our  ordinary  rou 
tine  of  studies.  The  theory  is,  that  a  well  balanced 
mind  is  the  end  to  be  attained.  Hence  exercises 
are  prescribed  in  literature  and  science,  in  lan 
guages  and  mathematics,  in  such  just  proportions 
as  to  develope  the  several  mental  faculties  in  equal 
degrees,  in  every  department.  But  is  there  no 
danger,  in  this  process,  of  reducing  all  these  facul 
ties  to  a  contemptible  mediocrity  ? 

Some  persons  possess,  beyond  a  doubt,  strong 
natural  aptitudes  to  excel  in  certain  departments, 
and  great  natural  inability  to  reach  even  moderate 
excellence  in  others.  Ought  not  a  true  system  of 
education  to  turn  the  peculiar  powers  of  the  pu 
pil  to  the  best  account  and  to  waste  no  time  in  'at 
tempting  to  render  him  a  proficient  in  those  bran 
ches  of  science,  literature  or  art,  for  which  he  has 
neither  capacity  nor  inclination  ?  If  so,  is  not  that 
system  of  questionable  utility  which  forces  every 
student,  at  an  uniform  pace,  through  the  same 
round  of  mathematical  and  classical  discipline, 
without  reference  to  the  peculiar  tendencies  of 
his  native  talents  ? 

Again,  in  most  of  our  higher  seminaries  the  same 

course  of  instruction,  the    same   text-books,  the 

same  principles  in  literature,  science  and  the  arts, 

are  presented,  year  after  year,  to   successive  gen- 

2* 


18  THE  LIFE  OF 

erations.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
young  minds,  thus  moulded  upon  an  uniform  sys 
tem,  will  generally  fall  into  common  and  uniform 
habits  of  thought,  and  will  be  led  to  reason,  be 
lieve  and  act,  precisely  as  their  fathers  and  teach 
ers  have  reasoned  and  believed  before  them.  The 
strong  tendency  of  the  system  is  to  repress  inquiry 
and  original  investigation,  to  eradicate  every  idio 
syncrasy  of  intellect,  and  merely  to  infuse  into  a 
passive  mind,  the  views  which  have  been  passively 
received  by  those  who  teach  them. 

To  this  kind  of  discipline  Martin  Van  Buren 
was  never  subjected ;  whether  to  his  advantage 
or  loss  can  only  be  a  matter  of  conjecture.  To 
regret  the  deficiencies  of  his  early  education  may 
perhaps  be  a  useless  waste  of  feeling.  No  one 
can  precisely  demonstrate  the  influence  of  colle 
giate  training  upon  his  peculiar  intellectual  powers. 
In  the  study  of  books,  he  might,  perhaps,  have 
been  withdrawn  from  the  study  of  men,  which  he 
has  pursued  with  such  eminent  success.  The 
rules  of  logic  might  have  been  manacles  upon  a 
mind  that  resisted  all  artificial  restraint.  From  the 
eloquent  pages  of  Livy,  or  the  honied  eulogiums 
of  Virgil,  or  the  servile  adulation  of  Horace,  he 
might  have  been  inspired  with  an  admiration  for 
regal  pomp  and  aristocratic  dignity,  uncongenial 
to  the  native  independence  of  his  mind.  From  the 
same  fascinating  pages,  he  might  have  imbibed  that 
contempt  for  plebeians  and  common  people  which 
is  so  bitterly  expressed  in  every  line  of  their  elo 
quent  productions.  Unless,  indeed,  the  spirit-stir- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  19 

ring  appeals,  put  by  the  father  of  Roman  history, 
in  the  mouths  of  his  popular  leaders,  had  kindled 
his  instinctive  love  of  justice  and  freedom  into  new 
activity ;  or  the  sarcastic  vigor  with  which  the 
philosophic  Tacitus  depicts  the  brutal  tyranny  of 
the  Roman  Emperors,  had  created  in  his  bosom  a 
fixed  hatred  of  tyranny  in  every  shape. 

It  is  the  manner  in  which  ancient  history  is  pre 
sented,  and  not  its  materials,  which  loads  to  the 
formation  of  erroneous  views  of  human  rights.  It 
needs  to  be  re-written  by  a  republican  pen. 
When  that  shall  have  been  done  with  fidelity  and 
independence,  ancient  history  will  be  a  most  use 
ful  study  for  the  young  American.  The  republics 
of  Greece,  as  they  are  miscalled,  will  then  no  lon 
ger  be  cited  as  examples  of  the  failure  of  systems 
of  political  equality.  The  enormous  evils  which 
spring  from  inequalities  of  rank,  influence  and 
wealth,  will  be  made  to  appear  in  every  era.  The 
Gracchi  and  other  champions  of  popular  rights 
will  be  relieved  from  the  unjust  reproaches  which 
have  been  heaped  upon  the  lovers  of  their  fellow 
men  from  that  day  to  this  ;  and  a  full  vindication 
will  appear  of  that  much  talked  of  Agrarian  law, 
which,  through  the  perversions  of  servile  histori 
ans,  has  been  made  a  term  of  reproach  and  a  bye- 
word  of  infamy,  to  frighten  reformers  withal,  for 
more  than  two  thousand  years.* 

The  example  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  is  dwelt  upon 

*  Some  of  the  most  eloquent  defences  of  popular  rights  any 
where  extant,  are  to  be  found  in  the  speeches  ascribed  to  popular 
leaders,  by'  Livy.  See,  for  example,  the  harangue  of  Canulejus 
the  Tribune,  in  the  4th  book,  and  3d  section  of  Livy's  history. 


20  THE  LIFE  OP 

more  at  length,  in  this  connection,  for  the  encour 
agement  of  the  youth  of  our  country  who  may 
believe  themselves  to  be  cut  off  by  their  poverty 
from  aspiring  to  distinction.  So  numerous  are  the 
instances  of  success  in  public  life,  attained  by  men 
of  imperfect  education,  as  to  raise  a  doubt  wheth 
er,  after  all,  their  exclusion  from  a  regular  routine 
of  study  may  not  have  been,  in  some  respects,  a 
benefit.  Many  instances  of  this  kind  appear  in  the 
brief  history  of  our  country.  The  names  of  Pat 
rick  Henry  and  Franklin,  will  occur  to  every  one 
and  the  early  education  of  Washington  himself  was 
by  no  means  complete. 

At  the  present  moment,  the  facilities  for  self  ed 
ucation  are  so  great  that  no  person  who  can  read, 
is  of  necessity  cut  off  from  them.  Text  books  in 
every  department  of  science  and  art  may  be  pro 
cured  at  a  trifling  expense,  and  if  the  want  of  a 
teacher  renders  the  progress  of  the  pupil  more  dif 
ficult  and  slow,  it  fixes  the  knowledge  he  may  ac 
quire,  more  permanently  in  his  memory. 

It  is  erroneous  to  suppose  that  a  knowledge  of 
the  ancient  languages  is  indispensable  to  the  high 
est  degree  of  excellence  in  writing  and  public 
speaking.  This  opinion  may  be  regarded  as  lit 
erary  heresy,  but  it  is  fully  shown  to  be  true  by 
numerous  examples.  Washington  and  Franklin 
are  perspicuous,  elegant,  and,  generally,  correct  in 
their  use  of  the  English  language.  What  orators 
have  surpassed  Patrick  Henry  and  William  Pinck- 
ney?  Yet  the  former  never  studied  the  ancient 
languages  at  all,  and  the  latter  only  obtained  an  im- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  21 

perfect  knowledge  of  Latin,  in  the  fortieth  year  of 
his  age. 

The  subject  of  the  present  memoir  may  be  ad 
duced  as  an  example  of  eminent  success,  both  in 
public  speaking  and  composition,  without  the  aid  of 
a  classical  education. 

These  remarks  are  not  made  to  disparage  the 
value  of  classical  learning,  but  to  encourage  those 
who  may  not  be  able  to  acquire  it,  nevertheless,  to 
pursue  the  best  means  of  improvement  in  their 
power,  which  means  will  generally  be  adequate  to 
their  real  wants. 

The  improvements  which  are  supposed  to  have 
been  made  in  the  modes  of  instructing  the  young 
are  the  boast  of  the  present  age.  The  advanta 
ges  to  be  derived  from  infant  schools,  Sunday 
schools,  lycetims,  gymnasiums  and  other  new  sys 
tems  of  teaching  are  extolled  with  so  much  zeal,  as 
to  awaken  a  regret  in  men  of  middle  age,  that  their 
own  entrance  upon  life  took  place  before  these 
novel  aids  to  wisdom  were  available.  But  it  is  a 
matter  of  reasonable  doubt  whether  much  is  gain 
ed,  after  all,  in  the  business  of  instruction  by 
these  modern,  labor-saving  machines.  It  is  an  un 
deniable  fact  that  the  seeds  of  wisdom  and  moral 
ity  may  best  be  sown  in  the  family  circle.  Noth 
ing  can  supply  the  place  of  parental  advice  and 
example.  When  children  are  assembled  at  the 
family  board,  to  hear  the  maxims  of  piety,  industry, 
economy  and  patriotism  which  experience  has 
taught  their  fathers,  they  are  enjoying  the  discipli 
nary  instruction  which  nature  intended  for  them* 


22  THE  LIFE  OF 

and  which  can  never  be  imparted  by  any  public  and 
stipendiary  teacher. 

The  social  affections  require  exercise  for  their 
full  development :  they  are  most  perfectly  trained 
and  cherished  at  the  paternal  fire-side.  The  com 
mand  of  the  passions,  discretion,  and  above  all, 
conscientious  morality  are  imperfectly  taught  in 
all  public  seminaries.  The  proper  teacher  is  the 
parent ;  the  proper  school,  home. 

It  is  a  matter  of  reasonable  concern  that  these 
principles  are  so  widely  departed  from,  at  present, 
in  this  country.  Mere  infants  are  withdrawn  from 
maternal  care  and  sent  to  schools,  by  parents  who 
have  leisure  and  ability  to  instruct  them  at  home. 
At  a  riper  age,  they  are  disposed  of  in  literary 
seminaries,  and  are  thus  withdrawn,  in  a  great 
measure,  from  the  personal  instruction  of  their  pa 
rents,  who  are  too  much  engrossed  in  the  various 
pursuits  of  life  to  conduct  the  education  of  their 
children  or  aid  in  the  formation  of  their  characters. 
As  if  any  higher  duty  could  devolve  upon  parents 
than  the  instruction  of  those  they  have  brought  in 
to  existence !  or  any  higher  honor  could  be  at 
tained,  than  the  presenting  their  country  with  an 
intelligent  and  well  disposed  family  !  How  true  is 
the  remark  of  a  great  philosopher  of  antiquity  that 
"  men  ought  either  not  to  beget  children  or  else, 
properly  to  educate  them." 

If  these  principles  be  correct,  it  may,  after  all, 
be  a  matter  of  no  regret  that  the  native  talents  of 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  were  not  subjected  to 
the  ordinary  methods  of  discipline,  and  that  his 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  23 

youthful  mind  and  feelings  were  formed  under  the 
paternal  roof,  by  the  sound  sense  of  a  wise  father 
and  the  pious  care  of  a  discreet  mother.  Perhaps 
to  this  very  cause  he  may  in  no  small  degree  be 
indebted  for  his  extraordinary  command  over  his 
temper  on  all  occasions,  his  strong  attachment  to 
his  early  friends,  and  his  amiable  social  qualities  ; 
as  well  as  for  the  benevolence  of  his  disposition,  the 
amenity  of  his  manners  and  the  blameless  purity 
of  his  moral  character. 


CHAPTER    II. 


The  professional  education  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  before 
his  admission  to  the  Bar. 


In  the  year  1796,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  commenced  the  study  of  the  Law,  in 
the  office  of  Francis  Sylvester,  Esq.,  a  respectable 
Lawyer,  then  and  still,  a  resident  in  Kinderhook. 
The  courts  of  Law  in  the  state  of  New  York,  have 
adhered  more  closely  to  the  English  forms  of  prac 
tice  than  has  been  done  in  most  of  the  other 
states.  Hence  the  proceedings  are  technical,  dif 
fuse,  and  sometimes  tedious.  The  first  business 
of  a  candidate  for  admission  to  the  bar,  is  to  be 
come  familiar  with  these  forms  ;  and  the  earlier 
portions  of  his  preparatory  discipline  are  more 
usually  devoted  to  the  drawing  of  declarations, 
bills  in  Chancery,  answers  and  other  technical 
pleadings,  than  to  the  study  of  the  elementary 
writers  upon  law.  The  preparation  of  these 
forms,  however,  requires  attention  and  care,  and 
3 


26  THE  LIFE  OF 

often  involves  the  exercise  of  nice  discrimination 
and  sound  logic. 

The  period  of  study  preparatory  to  admission 
to  the  bar  was  seven  years,  for  candidates,  who 
like  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  had  not  the  benefit 
of  a  collegiate  education.  This  period  wras  meant 
to  be  large  enough  to  afford  time,  not  only  to  be 
come  a  proficient  in  the  technical  parts  of  the 
profession,  but  to  lay  a  thorough  foundation  for 
legal  science  by  the  perusal  of  elementary  writers, 
and  leave  leisure  for  considerable  attention  to 
general  literature. 

There  was  at  the  time  now  alluded  to,  another 
school  of  discipline  for  the  student  of  law,  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  in  some  measure  peculiar  to 
that  state.  The  jurisdiction  of  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  in  civil  cases,  extended  to  questions  involv 
ing  a  considerable  amount  of  property ;  and  the 
parties,  in  almost  every  case,  had  a  right  of  trial  by 
jury.  The  management  of  cases  in  these  popular 
courts  not  unfrequently  devolved  upon  students  at 
law,  and  was,  in  some  respects,  an  admirable  arena 
for  the  display  of  their  knowledge  and  the  disci 
pline  of  their  talents.  The  legal  forms  in  these 
cases  were  generally  very  simple,  and  the  legal 
questions  involved,  not  always  difficult  and  pro 
found  ;  but  the  facts  put  in  issue  were  numerous 
and  exciting  to  the  parties,  whose  passions  were 
as  frequently  the  cause  of  litigation  as  any  in 
fringement  of  important  rights. 

These  trials,  therefore,  formed  an  admirable 
exercise  for  the  ingenuity  and  industry  of  the  neo- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  27 

phyte  lawyer.  He  could  there  exercise  his  inge 
nuity  in  the  clear  and  legal  statement  of  facts, 
derived  from  the  passionate  and  confused  narra 
tion  of  clients ;  in  the  preparation  and  examina 
tion  of  witnesses ;  in  that  keen  encounter  of  judg 
ment,  acuteness,  and  wit,  so  observable  at  the  bar ; 
and  in  placing  the  whole  case  favorably  before  a 


At  the  period  when  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  engag 
ed  in  his  legal  studies,  Columbia  County  was  not 
distinguished  for  its  freedom  from  litigation.  Many 
legal  principles,  affecting  real  and  personal  prop 
erty,  were  not  as  well  settled  by  judicial  decisions 
as  they  are  at  the  present  day.  Many  new  inter 
ests  were  starting  into  existence  and  novel  ques 
tions  of  personal  rights  not  unfrequently  arose. 
From  a  state  of  penury  and  suffering,  the  commu 
nity  had  advanced  into  a  condition  of  comparative 
affluence  and  ease  ;  and  being  relieved  from  their 
serious  evils  had  leisure  to  litigate  and  discuss  mat 
ters  of  minor  importance. 

It  will  be  doing  no  injustice  to  the  Lawyers  of 
that  day  to  say,  that  the  humbler  members  of  the 
profession  were  themselves  less  competent  to 
advise,  in  legal  matters,  than  attorneys  of  the  same 
comparative  standing  at  this  time.  Party  politics 
moreover,  raged  violently,  and  frequently  disturb 
ed  the  peaceful  relations  of  neighbors  whose  real 
interests  were  not  in  conflict  with  each  other.  In 
short,  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  all  tra 
dition  unites  in  establishing  the  fact,  that  the  village 
of  Kinderhook  with  its  immediate  vicinity,  was  the 


28  THE  LIFE  OF 

theatre  of  incessant  litigation  and  judicial  combat, 
especially  in  the  local  courts. 

The  early  indications  of  ability,  as  a  speaker 
and  reasoner,  which  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  occasioned  his  almost  incessant  employ 
ment  in  trials  of  the  kind  we  have  described,  from 
the  earliest  period  of  commencing  the  study  of 
his  profession.  His  father  was  a  firm  whig  in  the 
Revolution  and  a  democrat  in  the  days  of  John 
Adams  ;  and  the  son  was  educated  in  the  same 
principles  and  of  course  formed  his  most  intimate 
connections  with  persons  of  the  same  political 
faith.  The  democratic  party  were  then  a  small 
minority  in  the  town  and  county  of  his  nativity. 
His  political  opinions,  as  well  as  the  display  of  more 
than  ordinary  talent,  led  to  his  employment  by  the 
members  of  his  own  party,  in  their  controversies 
with  regard  to  personal  rights  and  rights  of  prop 
erty.  At  this  early  period,  they  appreciated  the 
value  of  his  industry,  perseverance,  and  fidelity  in 
the  cause  of  his  friends,  and  looked  forward  to  the 
period  in  which  they  should  possess,  in  him,  a 
champion  of  their  legal  rights  in  the  highest  courts 
of  law  and  of  their  political  opinions  in  the  public 
councils. 

In  these  local  and  temporary  contests,  so  well 
suited  to  the  developement  of  native  talent,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  was  laboriously  and  zealously  engaged, 
during  the  whole  period  of  his  preparation  for  the 
bar.  It  often  happened,  moreover,  that  in  the 
management  of  cases  he  encountered  men  of  age, 
talent,  and  high  standing  in  the  profession.  It  can- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  29 

not  be  doubted  that  the  utmost  stretch  of  his  exer 
tions,  which  such  occasions  called  forth,  contribut 
ed,  greatly,  to  the  thorough  discipline  and  develop 
ment  of  his  native  powers  of  mind. 

Many  characteristic  anecdotes  are  related  of  his 
successful  efforts,  at  this  early  age,  wrhich  might 
fitly  occupy  a  portion  of  this  memoir  were  it  not 
destined  rather  for  instruction  than  amusement. 
One  remarkable  display  of  his  powers  is  often  al 
luded  to,  by  gentlemen  who  then  resided  in  that 
vicinity,  when  the  young  advocate,  not  yet  sixteen 
years  of  age,  successfully  managed  a  cause  of  great 
interest  and  considerable  importance,  against  two 
opponents,  one  of  whom  was  then  in  full  practice 
at  the  bar,  and  the  other  afterwards  filled  several, 
respectable  public  offices. 

At  this  early  period  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  an  ar 
dent  and  active  politician.  His  political  course 
will  be  more  fully  developed  in  another  place  ; 
but  it  is  proper  to  remark  at  this  point,  that  it  was 
his  constant  habit  to  attend  all  meetings  of  the 
democratic  party,  to  study  with  attention  the  polit 
ical  intelligence  of  the  day,  and  to  yield  his  most 
zealous  aid  to  the  principles  he  held  to  be  true,  both 
by  speaking  in  public  and  employing  his  ready  pen 
to  furnish  resolutions  and  addresses  whenever  his 
services  were  required.  As  early  as  1800,  when 
only  in  his  eighteenth  year,  and  still  a  student  at 
law,  he  was  deputed  by  the  Republicans  in  his  na 
tive  town  to  attend  a  convention  of  delegates  from 
Columbia  and  Rensselaer  counties,  to  nominate  a 
candidate  for  representative  to  Congress.  From 
3* 


30  THE  LIFE  OF 

that  time  onward,  during  his  minority,  he  con 
stantly  had  similar  marks  of  the  confidence  of  his 
political  friends  and  exhibited  similar  activity  in 
their  behalf. 

The  last  year  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  preparatory 
studies  was  passed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the 
office  of  Mr.  William  P.  Van  Ness,  and  under  his 
direction.  Mr.  Van  Ness  was  a  native  of  Colum 
bia  County,  but  at  that  time,  a  distinguished  mem 
ber  of  the  bar  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  a  very 
conspicuous  leader  of  the  Republican  party.  The 
reputation  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  acquired  in 
his  native  county,  both  as  a  politician  and  an  advo 
cate,  secured  for  him  the  especial  interest  and  at 
tention  of  Mr.  Van  Ness.  Thus,  he  had  every  pos 
sible  advantage  for  improvement ;  and  his  eager 
thirst  for  knowledge,  together  with  his  aptitude  in 
acquiring  it,  enabled  him  to  make  great  advances. 
During  this  period,  his  devotion  to  the  study  of  the 
principles  of  his  profession,  was  intense.  In  an 
association  of  young  gentlemen  engaged  in  similar 
pursuits,  which  occasionally  met  for  the  discussion 
of  legal,  political  and  miscellaneous  questions,  he 
soon  became  conspicuous  by  his  ready  command 
of  language  and  closeness  of  reasoning.  Some 
elder  members  of  the  profession  who  occasionally 
attended  these  discussions,  at  that  time,  foresaw 
and  predicted  his  future  eminence  at  the  bar. 

Mr.  Van  Ness,  as  a  leading  republican  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  was  occasionally  associated 
with  the  celebrated  Aaron  Burr,  at  that  time  Vice 
President  of  the  United  States.  Through  this 


MARTIX  VAN  BUREN.  3! 

medium  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  introduced  to  the  no 
tice  of  the  Vice  President.  As  Col.  Burr,  not  im 
probably,  foresaw  the  possibility  of  his  becoming 
a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Governor  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  he  was  led  by  his  knowledge  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  political  activity  and  influence 
in  his  native  county,  as  well  as  by  a  quick  sighted 
observation  of  the  future  eminence  promised  by 
his  early  display  of  talent,  to  treat  him  with  mark 
ed  attention  and  to  make  every  reasonable  effort 
to  secure  his  favorable  regard. 

o 

In  November,  1803,  in  the  twenty-first  year  of 
his  age,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  admitted,  as  an  attor 
ney  at  law,  to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
the  state  of  New  York.  He  immediately  return 
ed  to  his  native  village  to  commence  the  practice 
of  his  profession. 


CHAPTER     III. 


Mr.  Van  Bur  erf  s  professional  career,  in  Kinderhook, 
from  the  period  of  his  admission  to  the  Bar,  in  1803, 
to  his  removal  to  the  city  of  Hudson,  in  1808. 

Near  the  close  of  his  twenty-first  year,  the  sub 
ject  of  this  memoir  began  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession,  as  an  attorney  at  law,  in  the  village  of  Kin- 
derhook.  He  formed  a  partnership  in  business 
with  the  Hon.  James  I.  Van  Alen,  a  half-brother 
on  his  mother's  side.  Mr.  Van  Alen  was  consid 
erably  his  senior  and  had  already  acquired  no 
small  degree  of  political  and  professional  distinc 
tion.  His  early  kindness  to  the  subject  of  this 
memoir  has  already  been  alluded  to. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  had  previously  been  admitted  as 
an  attorney  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  at  the  first 
succeeding  session  of  the  Columbia  County  Court, 
he  was  enrolled  in  the  list  of  its  attorneys  and 
counsellors. 

The  bar  of    Columbia   County,  at  that  time, 


34  THE  LIFE  OF 

embraced  some  of  the  most  distinguished  members 
of  the  legal  profession  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
It  will  not  be  invidious  to  mention  the  names  of 
William  W.  Van  Ness,  (afterwards  a  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  New  York,)  Elisha  Williams, 
Thomas  P.  Grosvenor,  and  Jacob  R.  Van  Rensse- 
laer.  Many  other  distinguished  names  might  be 
added  to  the  list,  but  the  gentlemen  already  men 
tioned  were  at  that  time  in  the  full  practice  of 
their  profession  and  for  legal  knowledge  and  splen 
did  talents  were  surpassed  by  few  lawyers  in  the 
state. 

Such  was  the  field  of  competition  upon  which 
the  youthful  candidate  then  entered.  But  in  order 
fully  to  understand  the  difficulties  with  which  he 
contended  and  the  circumstances  which  contribut 
ed  to  the  formation  of  his  character  and  fame,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  advert  to  the  state  of  political 
parties  at  the  period  alluded  to ;  for  the  political 
and  professional  acts  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  have  been 
so  closely  interwoven,  from  his  first  entrance  upon 
the  duties  of  active  life,  that  the  description  of  the 
one  class  cannot  well  be  separated  from  that  of 
the  other. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  the  present  writer  to  pre 
sent  a  political  history  of  the  times,  any  farther 
than  may  be  necessary  to  the  clear  elucidation  of 
the  principles  and  character  of  the  subject  of  this 
narrative.  It  has  been  truly  said  by  a  writer  of 
great  celebrity  in  the  departments  both  of  biogra 
phy  and  history,  that  "  the  biographer  never  ought 
to  introduce  public  events,  except  as  far  as  they 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  35 

arc  absolutely  necessary  to  the  illustration  of  char 
acter  ;  and  that  the  historian  should  rarely  digress 
into  biographical  particulars,  except  as  far  as  they 
contribute  to  the  clearness  of  his  narrative  of  po 
litical  occurrences."*  But  as  the  political  course 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  appears  to  the  writer  to  pre 
sent  a  pure  and  attractive  example  for  the  imita 
tion  of  the  young  men  of  our  country,  it  would 
seem  that  an  account  of  his  life  and  opinions,  should, 
in  some  measure,  be  a  text  book  of  democratic 
principles. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  people  of  these  states 
have  always  been  divided  into  two  broadly  separ 
ated  and  distinctly  marked  parties.  One  of  these 
parties  has  been  the  constant  antagonist  of  popular 
influence,  equality  and  freedom ;  the  other  has 
constantly  relied  on  the  capacity  of  the  people  for 
self-government  and  has,  at  all  times,  regarded 
their  voice  as  the  ultimate  rule  of  action  in  all  po 
litical  matters.  A  writer  of  considerable  research, 
and  of  high  authority  where  he  is  not  under  the 
bias  of  party  prejudice,  has  intimated  that  this  great 
division  began  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  ;f  but  this,  perhaps,  is  not  the 
most  accurate  view  of  the  origin  of  these  parties. 
A  closer  observation  will  show  that  the  elements 
of  this  division  existed  anterior  to  the  Revolution. 
Indeed  these  elements  are  inherent  in  the  nature 

*  Life  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  by  Sir  James  Mackintosh. 
tPitkin's  political  and  civil  History  of  the  United  States,  vol. 
ii.  p.  352. 


36  THE  LIFE  OF 

of  man,  and  have  separated  mankind,  in  all  coun 
tries  and  in  all  ages,  into  the  lovers  and  champions 
of  popular  rights  on  one  side,  and  the  oppressors 
of  their  fellow-men  on  the  other.  But  in  the  pres 
ent  place,  it  is  purposed  to  consider  rather  the  his 
torical,  than  the  philosophical  origin  of  these 
parties. 

During  the  whole  period  of  British  aggression 
and  American  suffering,  a  strong  party  existed  in 
this  country,  averse  to  any  demonstrations  of  re 
sistance  to  England  or  any  exertions  for  the  pro 
tection  of  colonial  freedom.  The  popular  voice 
was  divided  in  regard  to  public  measures,  from 
the  operation  of  various  motives.  Some  of  those 
who  were  for  passive  submission,  feared  English 
power ;  others  loved  English  patronage ;  and  all 
distrusted  the  capacity  of  a  free  people  to  govern 
themselves. 

The  same  division  was  perceptible  during  the 
war  of  the  Revolution ;  though  the  violence  of  the 
enemy  forced  into  the  popular  ranks,  for  a  time, 
many  who  were  at  heart  averse  to  a  republican 
form  of  government.  Many  of  the  colonists  had 
been  educated  in  Europe,  others  had  family  con 
nections  therer  and  a  still  larger  number  had,  by 
reading  or  travel,  formed  high  notions  of  the  much- 
lauded  excellence  of  the  British  Constitution. 
These  persons  would  gladly  have  preserved  in 
America,  many  features  of  an  aristocratic  govern 
ment,  and  they  saw  with  alarm  and  regret  the  un 
paralleled  determination  of  the  American  people, 
never  to  cease  from  the  contest  until  they  had 


MARTIN  VAN  BUHEN.  37 

prostrated  every  vestige  of  authority,  proceeding 
from  any  other  source  than  the  will  of  the  people. 
Before  the  disbanding  of  the  American  army,  it 
is  pretty  well  understood,  that  two  of  the  general 
officers,  who  stood  high  in  its  affections,  proposed, 
very  distinctly,  to  General  Washington  to  assume 
monarchical  powers,  and  promised  to  sustain  him 
by  the  armies  under  their  control.  Fortunately 
for  the  cause  of  freedom,  that  great  and  good  man 
was  equally  incapable  of  being  influenced  by  per 
sonal  ambition,  and  of  distrusting  the  ability  of 
freemen  to  govern  themselves. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  point  out  frequent 
indications,  on  the  part  of  leading  politicians,  of  a 
preference  for  monarchical  institutions  and  of  a  dis 
trust  of  popular  discretion,  during  the  period  which 
intervened  between  the  termination  of  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  and  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution.  The  country  was  then  divided  into 
two  distinct  parties,  the  republicans  and  monar 
chists,  the  former  insisting  on  the  utmost  liberty  of 
action,  consistent  with  the  preservation  of  social 
rights,  and  the  latter  struggling  to  curtail  popular 
rights,  and  looking  to  a  monarchy  and  a  heredita 
ry  nobility  as  the  only  protections  of  individual  in 
terests. 

But  it  was  in  the  convention  which  formed  the 
Federal  Constitution  that  the  monarchical  party 
made  the  most  distinct  demonstration  of  their 
views.  The  convention  sat  with  closed  doors,  and 
few  of  the  opinions  expressed  by  individual  mem 
bers  have  been  preserved.  There  is  no  reason  to 
4 


38  THE  LIFE  OF 

doubt,  however,  that  there  were  members  of  the 
assembly  who  would  have  been  gratified  with  the 
nearest  possible  approach  of  our  government  to 
that  of  Great  Britain.  But  the  popular  will  had 
been  so  decidedly  expressed,  as  to  show  the  impos 
sibility  of  indulging  such  preferences.  Propositions 
were,  nevertheless,  made,  and  that  too,  by  men 
who  were  afterwards  the  leaders  of  the  Federal 
party,  to  elect  a  President  and  Senate  for  life,  or 
during  good  behavior,  to  have  the  Governors  of 
the  respective  states  appointed  by  the  Executive  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  to  give  that  govern 
ment  a  veto  upon  all  the  acts  of  the  State  Legis 
latures.  Fortunately  these  propositions  were  re 
jected  by  the  democratic  part  of  the  convention, 
and  the  Constitution,  as  finally  adopted,  took  so 
popular  a  form  as  to  be  highly  offensive  to  many 
of  the  anti-republican  members.  Nevertheless, 
such  alarming  indications  appeared,  in  certain 
quarters,  of  a  preference  for  a  consolidated  and 
privileged  government,  that  the  democracy  of  the 
country  were  exceedingly  cautious  in  yielding  their 
final  assent  to  the  new  instrument,  nor  was  their 
jealousy  of  its  provisions  allayed,  until  after  the 
adoption  of  several  important  amendments,  secur 
ing  to  the  people  certain  cardinal  rights  of  free 
men,  and  tending  to  the  unimpaired  preservation 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  states. 

Even  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  consti 
tution,  there  was  a  body  of  politicians,  and  those 
too  of  no  humble  influence  and  character,  who 
had  no  faith  or  pleasure  in  the  idea  of  a  republic, 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  39 

who  longed  for  a  monarchical  form  of  government, 
and  who  openly  spoke  of  our  system  as  a  humbug 
which  could  not  last  a  quarter  of  a  century,  while 
they  professed  to  regard  the  British  government 
as  the  most  perfect,  ever  invented  by  human  wis 
dom.* 

During  the  administration  of  General  Washing 
ton,  the  peculiar  and  opposite  views  of  the  two 
parties  became  more  apparent ;  and  the  distinc 
tive  features  of  each,  at  that  time,  have  continued 
to  characterize  them,  respectively,  to  the  present 
day.  Names  indeed,  have  changed  ;  and  a  vocab 
ulary  of  considerable  extent,  has  been  exhausted 
on  one  side,  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  hide  real  prin 
ciples  from  public  view.  But  at  whatever  era,  or 
under  whatever  name,  the  aristocratic  party  have 
appeared,  they  have  exhibited  the  same  aversion 
to  the  full  enjoyment  of  popular  rights,  the  same 
distrust  of  popular  capacity  and  integrity,  and  the 
same  dread  of  popular  freedom. 

In  the  administration  of  Washington,  wrhen 
Hamilton  presided  over  the  Treasury  department 
and  Knox  was  secretary  of  War,  the  doctrines  of 
the  anti-republican  party  were  similar  to  those  of 
the  same  party,  at  the  present  day.  They  were 
for  a  splendid,  consolidated  government,  supported 
by  a  national  Bank  and  revolving  about  an  intrigu 
ing  and  corrupting  treasury.  Large  salaries,  per 
manence  in  office,  pomp,  profusion,  arid  ceremony 
were,  then,  as  now,  earnestly  contended  for.  The 

*Jcfferson's  "Works,  vol.  iv.  page  450  et  seq. 


40  THE  LIFE  OF 

constant  cry  was  of  danger  from  the  people, — of 
popular  effervescence  and  popular  power,  and  un 
less  the  democracy  of  these  states  had  rallied,  un 
der  Jefferson,  and  brought  back  the  constitution  to 
its  original  simplicity  and  purity,  we  might,  ere  this, 
have  seen  Presidents  and  Senators  and,  perhaps, 
Representatives  in  Congress,  quietly  seated  in  their 
offices  for  life,  and  transmitting  their  stations,  their 
titles  and  their  fortunes,  to  a  promising  race  of  their 
legitimate  descendants. 

At  that  early  period,  too,  the  leading  doctrines 
of  the  democratic  party  were  nearly  the  same  as 
are  professed  by  that  party  at  the  present  day.  A 
perfect  equality  of  political  rights  ;  the  sovereignty 
of  the  State  Governments ;  a  strict  construction 
of  the  constitution;  no  privileges  to  particular 
sections  of  the  country  or  to  particular  classes  of 
the  community ;  no  monopolies,  trading  compa 
nies,  or  corrupt  governmental  Banks ;  frequent  ro 
tation,  strict  responsibility  and  small  parade  in  of 
fice  ;  moderate  legislation  ;  a  revenue  meeting  the 
wants  of  the  people  and  no  more ;  simplicity  in 
the  laws  ;  and  the  least  possible  restraint  upon  the 
mind,  person,  energy  and  industry  of  every  man, 
consistent  with  the  rights  of  his  fellow-man. 

The  distinctive  features  of  each  party  have  re 
mained  nearly  the  same,  down  to  the  present  day. 
On  one  side,  there  has  been  seen  the  scheme  of  a 
splendid,  national,  consolidated  Government,  a 
single  department  of  which,  it  has  been  claimed, 
may  control  a  sovereign  state  and  remove  even  fel 
ons  from  the  cells  of  her  penitentiaries  ;  an  over- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  41 

grown  national  Bank,  its  head  reaching  to  the  high 
est  offices  in  the  government,  its  members  extended 
to  every  state,  its  right  hand  raised  to  depose  the 
President  of  the  people,  its  breath  spreading  dis 
may  throughout  the  land,  its  operations  extensive, 
secret  and  corrupt,  its  resources  unlimited  and  its 
continuance,  perpetual ;  a  system  of  raising  reve 
nue  vastly  disproportioned  to  the  wants  of  the 
government,  to  be  lavished  in  magnificent  roads, 
through  favored  sections  of  the  country,  or  invest 
ed  in  joint-stock  speculations ;  a  latitudinarian  con 
struction  of  the  Federal  compact,  begetting  the 
exercise  of  powers  which  endanger  the  continu 
ance  of  the  Union ;  a  practical  avowal  of  the 
principle  that  a  national  debt  is  a  national  blessing ; 
a  disposition  to  legislate  over-much,  and  to  tamper, 
capriciously,  with  the  interests  of  the  people ;  a 
general  disregard  of  the  popular  voice  and  distrust 
of  the  popular  capacity,  leading  to  the  crooked 
policy  of  attempting  to  cheat  the  people  into  salu 
tary  measures,  thus  rendering  office  holders,  not 
their  servants,  but  their  masters. 

On  the  contrary,  the  democratic  party  set  out 
with  the  cardinal  principle  that  might  and  right 
belong,  equally  and  exclusively,  to  the  people  ;  that 
in  them  resides  all  sovereignty;  that  there  is  no 
power  on  earth  which  may  rightfully  subject  them 
to  any  laws  or  restraints,  of  body  or  mind,  which 
they  choose  not  to  adopt  for  themselves  ;  that  gov 
ernment  is  for  their  own  comfort  and  protection, 
and  not  for  the  especial  benefit  of  the  governors  : 
that  magistrates  are  servants,  and  office-holders 
4* 


42  THE  LIFE  OF 

agents,  whom  the  people  create  and  may  at  pleas 
ure,  control  or  remove  ;  that  the  unimpaired  sove 
reignties  of  the  several  states  are  vastly  more  es 
sential  to  liberty  than  any  other  feature  of  our  po 
litical  system  ;  that  the  National  Government  pos 
sesses  no  inherent  powers,  but  is  authorized  to  act 
only  so  far  as  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  constitu 
tion  clearly  intend;  that  no  revenue  should  be 
raised  beyond  the  wants  of  the  government ;  that 
the  Federal  Government  was  intended  mainly  for 
the  regulation  of  foreign  relations  and  cannot  con 
stitutionally  expend  large  sums  of  money  in  do 
mestic,  local,  internal  improvements  and  splendid 
plans  of  national  embellishment  and  speculation  ; 
that,  inasmuch  as  a  national  Bank  is  not  expressly 
authorized  by  the  constitution,  and  the  right  of 
creating  one  lias  always  been  questioned  by  sound 
politicians,  no  such  institution  should  be  established 
without  further  authority  from  the  people,  what 
ever  advantages  may  be  claimed  for  it ;  that  the 
several  departments  of  the  Federal  Government 
are  co-ordinate  and  equal  in  their  respective 
spheres,  and  that  each  is  bound  to  interpret  and 
execute  its  functions  and  duties,  on  its  own  responsi 
bility  and  by  its  own  lights. 

These  are  some  of  the  principles  of  the  demo 
cratic  party  at  the  present  time.  They  are,  no 
doubt,  held  with  various  modifications,  by  differ 
ent  members  of  the  party ;  but  they  all  aim  at  re 
moving  every  burden  and  restriction  upon  the  nat 
ural  freedom  of  man,  to  the  utmost  extent  which  is 
consistent  with  the  preservation  of  social  order. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  43 

They  are  based  upon  the  fundamental  axiom  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  American  people  are  honest 
and  are  capable  of  self-government ;  and  that,  ad 
mitting  their  liability  to  mistakes  and  to  occasional 
perversions  of  right,  yet  the  liberties  of  the  people 
may  more  safely  be  entrusted  with  themselves,  than 
with  any  of  those  zealous  patriots  who  are  ready, 
from  pure  benevolence,  to  govern  them. 

Between  the  two  parties,  whose  antagonist  prin 
ciples  have  been  briefly  stated,  the  community 
have  ever  been  divided  according  to  their  natural 
dispositions,  their  early  education,  their  personal 
interests  or  the  dictates  of  their  judgment.  Among 
the  leaders  of  the  anti-democratic  party  have  gen 
erally  been  found  those  persons  who  were  born  to 
the  inheritance  of  large  estates,  who  have  passed 
through  the  training  of  a  regular  collegiate  educa 
tion,  and  have  any  claims  to  distinction  on  the  score 
of  ancestry.  Their  distrust  of  popular  capacity 
and  integrity  may  generally  be  traced  to  the 
tenor  of  their  early  education,  by  which  they  have 
been  so  far  withdrawn  from  the  necessity  of  man 
ual  labor  and  from  contact  with  those  who  live 
by  it,  as  to  form  erroneous  notions  of  their  capaci 
ty  and  an  ill  founded  distrust  of  their  virtue.  The 
educated  sons  of  opulent  and  distinguished  pa 
rents  very  naturally  come  to  regard  themselves  as 
the  natural  inheritors  of  the  honors  of  their  family 
and  are  easily  disposed  to  claim  priority  in  political 
promotion,  over  the  undistinguished  and  the 
poor.  Not  unfrequently,  the  course  of  educa 
tion  through  which  they  pass  is  fitted  to  inspire  an 


44  THE  LIFE  OF 

admiration  for  the  glare  of  aristocratic  pomp  in 
foreign  countries  and  in  ancient  times.  They  read 
of  the  Roman  "  plebeians"  and  the  English  "  mob" 
and  are  prone  to  regard  the  common  people  of 
their  own  country  in  the  same  contemptuous  esti 
mation.  As  they  advance  in  life,  they  soon  begin 
to  feel  that  entire  equality  in  civil  and  political 
rights,  is  a  principle  not  altogether  consistent  with 
their  own  estimate  of  themselves  and  of  those 
around  them.  They  begin  to  regard  those  who 
are  not  their  equals  in  wealth,  family  and  educa 
tion,  as  inferiors,  also,  in  political  rights.  Having 
never  freely  mingled  with  the  mass  of  their  fellow 
men,  they  under-rate  their  capacity  and  virtue. 
They  forget  that  integrity  of  character  and  true  pa 
triotism  are  more  frequently  imbibed  from  the  pa 
rental  and  domestic  education  of  the  farmer  or  me 
chanic,  than  in  public  seminaries  of  learning.  They 
forget  that  learning  is  not  always  wisdom  ;  that  a 
full  scholar  may  be  a  shallow  thinker ;  and  that 
books,  teachers,  apparatus  and  the  other  instru 
ments  of  learning  are  not  the  bestowers  of  a  sound 
judgment  or  a  clear  head.  These  are,  indeed, 
great  helps  to  mental  discipline  and  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge ;  but  some  of  the  strongest  minds 
that  ever  appeared  have  been  formed  without 
them.  Patient  reflection  may  proceed  as  rapidly 
and  steadily,  over  the  desk  of  the  merchant,  the 
bench  of  the  mechanic,  the  anvil  of  the  smith,  or 
at  the  hearth  of  the  farmer,  as  amid  the  splendid 
halls  of  learning  or  in  the  cloisters  of  the  man  of 
science.  There  is  less  difference  between  men  of 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  45 

reflection  and  native  judgment  than  is  generally 
imagined  ;  how  different  soever  may  have  been 
their  means  of  education  or  their  conditions  in  life. 
The  principles  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  true  sci 
ence,  both  in  morals  and  politics,  are  simple.,  and 
may  generally  be  as  clearly  comprehended  by  the 
man  of  plain,  uneducated  common  sense,  as  by  the 
scholar  whose  mind  has  been  trained  by  artificial 
modes  of  reasoning.  The  latter  has  greatly  the 
advantage  of  the  former  in  the  facility  with  which 
his  literary  resources  enable  him  to  express,  illus 
trate  and  enforce  his  sentiments.  But  the  unedu 
cated  man  may,  nevertheless,  be  a  profound  think 
er,  though  destitute  of  the  technical  rules  which  are 
convenient  for  the  clear  expression  of  the  grounds 
of  his  opinions.* 

The  truth  is,  the  principles  of  political  and  moral 
science  are  not  so  profound  and  abstruse  that  only 
a  select  few,  of  striking  genius  and  great  learning, 
can  possibly  comprehend  them.  If  it  were  so, 
there  would  be  an  end  of  all  freedom  in  the  politi 
cal  world,  and  of  all  independence  of  judgment 
in  the  moral  and  religious  world.  If  the  principles 
of  politics  are  beyond  the  apprehension  of  man- 


•  • 


'No  epoch  of  liumanity,  not  even  a  single  individual,  wheth 
er  the  first  or  the  last,  has  ever  been  cut  off  from  the  inheritance 
of  truth.  *  *  *  A  peasant,  the  meanest  of  peasants,  knows 
as  much  as  Leibnitz,  about  himself,  about  the  world  and  God, 
and  about  their  relations;  but  he  does  not  possess  the  secret  and 
the  complete  explication  of  his  knowledge;  he  knows  not  how  to 
account  for  it:  he  possesses  it,  but  ke  does  not  possess  it  in  that 
superior  form  of  thought,  which  we  call  philosophy."  Cousin's 
Introduction  to  the  History  of  Philosophy :  Lecture  ii. 


46  THE  LIFE  OF 

kind  at  large,  government  must,  of  necessity,  be 
taken  from  their  control  and  committed  to  the  di 
rection  of  the  few  who  have  the  requisite  learning 
and  capacity.  If  the  principles  of  moral  and  re 
ligious  truth  are  equally  obscure,  then  must  the 
right  of  private  judgment  in  these  matters,  cease 
to  be  exercised,  and  the  mass  of  mankind  must  re 
ceive  their  religious  belief  and  their  rules  of  action 
from  a  controlling  priesthood.  But  in  matters  of 
religious  belief  and  practice,  the  competency  of 
every  moral  agent  to  form  his  individual  opinions, 
and  his  responsibility  for  his  faith  and  practice 
are  no  longer  a  matter  of  dispute.  The  Chris 
tian  religion  is  characterized  by  such  plainness 
and  simplicity  that  its  doctrines  and  precepts 
are  within  the  apprehension  of  the  most  common 
understanding;  nor  can  any  person,  be  relieved 
by  the  interposition  of  any  human  expositor  from 
the  responsibility  of  examining  and  believing  for 
himself. 

The  same  course  of  reasoning  applies  to  political 
knowledge.  The  true  principles  of  government 
must  be  within  the  apprehension  of  ordinary  men 
or  the  great  mass  of  mankind  must  be  excluded 
from  the  exercise  of  self-control.  If  it  be  the  law  of 
our  nature  that  men  shall  form  their  own  civil  insti 
tutions,  it  mnst  be  upon  principles  which  men  can 
understand.  If  social  institutions  cannot  be  foun 
ded  and  maintained  on  such  principles,  they  must 
be  formed  exclusively  by  the  few  who  can  under 
stand  them,  and  the  only  duty  of  the  great  body  of 
mankind,  must  be  submission.  If  these  principles 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  47 

arc  correct,  the  mystery  and  obscurity  which 
sometimes  surround  law-making  and  civil  govern 
ment  are  the  result  either  of  ignorance  or  imposi 
tion,  and  ought  to  be  dissipated. 

Hence  the  opponents  of  democratic  power  fall, 
at  once,  into  a  two-fold  error.  They  ascribe  an 
undue  degree  of  intricacy  to  the  science  of  politics, 
and  at  the  same  time,  underrate  the  capacity  of  the 
great  mass  of  their  fellow-men.  From  these  er 
rors  of  opinion  flow  the  most  unhappy  consequen 
ces.  They  who  entertain  them  are  engaged  in  a 
constant  endeavor  to  curb  the  popular  influence 
and  withdraw  aH  political  power,  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  people.  Borrowing  their  notions  of  po 
litical  science  from  foreign  governments,  they 
constantly  lose  sight  of  the  cardinal  principle  that 
all  powrer,  here,  belongs  to  the  people.  Forget 
ting  that  the  people  are  the  lawful  sovereigns  of 
this  realm  and  that  law-makers  and  office-holders 
are  their  agents  and  servants,  invested  with  tem 
porary  duties  for  the  execution  of  which  they  are 
responsible  to  the  people  as  their  masters  and  are 
rewarded  by  them,  these  men  who  are  rather  edu 
cated  in  the  principles  of  foreign  governments 
than  of  our  own,  constantly  aim  to  assert  for  them 
selves  a  supremacy  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which 
men  of  rank,  wealth  and  education  are  entitled  to, 
in  a  different  organization  of  society.  Accustomed 
to  estimate  themselves  as  much  above  their  fellow- 
men  in  political  advantages,  as  they,  often,  really 
are  in  wealth  and  education,  they  look  upon  the 
claim  of  the  common  people  to  equal  rights  and 


4S  THE  LIFE  OF 

legitimate  supremacy,  as  an  encroachment  upon 
their  own  peculiar  privileges.  They  regard  the 
struggles  of  the  democracy  as  attempts  to  strip 
them  of  a  just  superiority.  The  real  'tendency  of 
those  struggles,  they  readily  perceive,  is  to  level 
and  equalize  wealth  and  political  power  through 
out  the  community ;  hence  they  spare  no  effort  in 
resisting  them.  It  is  difficult  for  men  whose  minds 
are  thus  formed  to  feel  that  the  undue  superfluity 
of  wealth  and  rank  they  may  chance  to  obtain, 
must  devolve  a  corresponding  privation  upon  other 
men,  who,  by  the  laws  of  nature  and  the  principles 
of  our  government,  are,  equally  with  themselves, 
entitled  to  the  enjoyment  of  these  privileges.  They 
cannot  feel  that  to  the  truly  benevolent  mind,  the 
suffering  of  the  undistinguished  poor  man,  seems 
to  be  as  great  an  evil  as  the  corresponding  distress 
of  the  high  born  and  rich. 

These  are  hard  lessons  for  men  to  learn  wha 
are  born  to  the  possession  of  superior,  social  and 
intellectual  enjoyments,  and  who  forget  that  the 
nature  of  our  institutions  forbids  them  from  also 
engrossing  political  superiority.  Stimulated  by 
these  false  notions  of  their  real  position  in  our  re 
public,  men,  who  in  social  intercourse  evince  the 
most  attractive  qualities  are  led  into  the  most  vio 
lent  political  practices.  They  hesitate  not  to  de 
claim  on  the  ignorance,  degradation,  servility,  cor 
ruption  and  violence  of  the  common  people — the 
mob — the  radicals — the  haters  of  good  order  and 
breakers  down  of  all  useful  institutions ;  the  men 
in  short,  who  dare  to  believe,  with  the  illustrious 


MARTIN  VAN  BUKEN.  4y 

Jefferson  that  one  half  of  mankind  are  not  born 
with  saddles  on  their  backs,  to  be  ridden  by  the 
other  half.  These  violent  denunciations  are  heap 
ed,  with  exaggerated  fury,  upon  any  men  of  edu 
cation,  moral  worth  and  talent,  who  may  espouse 
the  popular  cause.  Underrating  the  intelligence 
of  the  great  body  of  the  democratic  party,  they 
erroneously  suppose  that  its  strength,  in  a  great 
measure,  depends  upon  the  leaders,  and  these 
leaders  become  the  objects  of  especial  attack. 
Feeling  no  sympathy,  themselves,  with  the  com 
mon  people,  they  ascribe  the  efforts  of  intelligent 
men  in  the  popular  cause,  to  the  vilest  motives. 
They  charge  these  men  with  misleading  others 
whom  they  only  co-operate  with,  or  perhaps,  in 
reality,  follow.  They  ascribe  the  exertions  of  the 
intelligent  and  able  champions  of  popular  rights  to 
demagogueism,  thirst  for  office,  inordinate  ambi 
tion,  or  moral  corruption ;  for  they  can  never 
appreciate  that  truly  expansive  benevolence  which 
embraces  all  mankind  as  brethren.  The  feeling 
of  sympathy  and  good  will  for  his  fellow  men,  of 
all  conditions,  which  is  the  pervading  principle  of 
action  with  the  true  philanthropist,  finds  no  place 
in  the  breast  of  the  aristocrat.  It  is  supplanted, 
too  often,  by  fear,  jealousy  and  hate.  The  aristo 
crat  sees,  lurking  in  every  poor  man's  eye,  a  design 
upon  his  life  or  property ;  he  regards  every  man 
who  is  beneath  his  own  caste,  as  under  the  influ 
ence  of  a  demoniacal  spirit,  which  is  only  kept 
within  bounds,  by  the  restraints  of  fear  and  self 
interest.  Hence,  he  seeks  for  protection  behind 


50  THE  LIFE   OF 

the  bulwarks  of  power,  rank,  title  and  authority. 
It  is  his  creed  that  the  common  people — the  rabble, 
must  be  kept  under,  either  by  force  or  corruption  5 
and  he  solemnly  believes  that  were  they  let  loose 
upon  the  world,  at  large,  they  would  exterminate 
"  the  better  sort  of  people" — plunder  the  rich,  re 
duce  all  to  the  common  level  of  poverty;  and 
finally  prey  with  violence  upon  each  other,  in  the 
frantic  exercise  of  liberty  ! 

The  true  friend  of  equal  rights,  looks  abroad 
upon  his  fellow  men  with  far  different  eyes, 
He  believes  that  nature  has  generally  bestowed 
upon  them  benevolent  and  social  feelings.  He 
reads  good  will  and  sympathy  in  their  countenan 
ces.  He  discovers  in  their  dispositions,  when 
unperverted  by  bad  education  or  example,  a  lean 
ing  towards  sincerity  and  truth,  and  a  strong  innate 
love  of  virtue  and  justice,  lie  traces  their  faults 
and  defects  to  other  causes  than  the  hand  of  nature 
or  of  God.  Hence  he  never  fears  and  hates  his 
fellow-men,  but  confides  in  them  and  loves  them. 
He  delights  to  do  them  good,  to  see  them  equal, 
free  and  happy ;  nor  has  he  any  doubt  that  with 
proper  information,  they  will  generally  act,  honest 
ly  and  wisely. — Certainly,  if  the  lover  of  popular 
rights  and  equality  errs,  his  error  is  on  the  side  of 
benevolence. 

At  the  time  when  Mr.  Van  Buren  commenced 
his  professional  career,  the  violence  of  party  spirit 
was  extreme  throughout  the  country.  The  state 
of  New  York  was  fearfully  agitated  by  its  influ 
ence  ;  and  in  the  county  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  resi- 


MARTIN   VAN  BUREN.  51 

tlonce,  political  dissensions   were    carried  to  the 
greatest  extremities. 

The  administration  of  the  Federal  Government 
and  of  the  state  of  New  York,  had  then  passed,  af 
ter  a  considerable  struggle,  into  the  hands  of  the 
democratic  party  ;  but  it  was  by  no  means  certain 
that  their  ascendency  would  be  of  long  continu 
ance.  In  the  county  of  Columbia,  the  federal 
party  held  the  reins  of  power  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.  The  more  opulent  land  holders  in  Kin- 
derhook  and  its  vicinity,  generally  belonged  to  that 
party;  and  the  southern  part  of  the  county  was 
almost  exclusively  owned  by  a  few  families  which 
had  inherited  large  estates  from  a  long  line  of 
wealthy  ancestors,  and  had  exercised,  an  influence 
over  their  tenants  and  the  more  recent  immigrants, 
analagous  in  its  nature,  and  almost  in  its  extent,  to 
the  baronial  prerogatives  of  feudal  lords.  The 
great  mass  of  mercantile  and  professional  men  in 
the  county,  were  dependent  upon  these  wealthy 
free  holders  for  patronage,  as  also  were  the  labor 
ers  and  mechanics,  in  a  still  greater  degree.  The 
members  of  these  families  were  generally  federal 
ists  and  looked  with  anxious  disapprobation  upon 
any  etforts  to  extend  popular  rights.  Towards 
the  champions  of  the  democracy,  they  exhibited 
neither  liberality  nor  toleration,  but  carried  on  a 
warfare  against  them,  both  in  public  and  private, 
of  the  most  obstinate  and  embittered  character. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  early  exhibition  of  energy  and 
talent  attracted  their  attention.  It  was  readily 
observable  that  they  had  much  to  fear  from  his 


52  THE  LIFE   OF 

exertions  if  he  continued  to  co-operate  with  the 
democracy,  and  no  ordinary  pains  were  taken  to 
detach  him  from  that  connection.  The  respecta 
ble  gentleman  with  whom  Mr.  Van  Btiren  studied 
his  profession  was  a  high  toned  federalist.  His 
elder  half  brother  and  early  patron  was  of  the  same 
political  faith.  These  gentlemen,  by  their  exam 
ple  and  advice,  earnestly  endeavored  to  withdraw 
him  from  a  political  connection  which  they  proba 
bly  believed  to  be  dangerous  and  wrong,  and 
which  they  could  not  but  foresee  must  bring  upon 
their  young  friend  much  persecution  and  obloquy. 
Gentlemen  of  high  standing  and  character,  many 
years  his  seniors,  who  were  sincerely  and  ardent 
ly  attached  to  him,  made  the  most  strenuous  en 
deavors  to  induce  him  to  change  his  political  creed. 
They  urged  every  consideration,  flattering  to  his 
pride,  or  which  could  tempt  the  ambition  of  an 
aspiring  youth.  They  pointed  out  to  him  the  dan 
gerous  tendency  of  what  they  called  the  "Jacobin 
ical  principles"  of  the  party  to  which  he  was  at 
tached,  and  the  certain  defeat  and  ruin  which 
awaited  them.  The  result  of  every  interview  was 
a  disappointment  of  their  hopes  to  influence  his 
course,  not  unmixed  with  an  admiration  for  the 
firmness  with  which  he  adhered  to  his  principles 
and  the  adroitness  with  which  he  met  their  argu 
ments.  These  attempts  were  finally  abandoned. 
Firmly  fixed  by  reflection  and  observation  in  the 
political  faith  of  his  father,  who  was  a  whig  in  the 
Revolution,  an  anti-federalist  in  1788,  and  an  early 
supporter  of  Jefferson,  the  subject  of  this  memoir 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  53 

shrunk  not  from  tiic  severe  tests  which  were  ap 
plied  to  the  strength  and  integrity  of  his  convic 
tions.  Without  patronage,  comparatively  poor,  a 
plebeian  by  birth,  and  not  furnished  with  the  ad 
vantages  of  a  superior  education,  he  refused  to 
worship  either  at  the  shrine  of  wealth  or  power, 
but  followed  the  dictates  of  his  native  judgment 
and  benevolent  feelings,  and  hesitated  not,  in  behalf 
of  the  cause  which  he  thus  adopted,  to  encounter 
the  utmost  violence  of  his  political  enemies.  That 
violence  soon  burst  upon  his  head  with  concentra 
ted  fury.  His  character  was  traduced,  his  person 
ridiculed,  his  principles  branded  as  infamous,  his 
integrity  questioned,  and  his  abilities  sneered  at, 
by  those  who  had  recently  extolled  them.  In 
short,  Mr.  Van  Buren  encountered,  in  the  earliest 
period  of  his  career,  an  earnest  of  that  malignant 
and  persevering  abuse  with  which  he  has  been 
incessantly  assailed,  from  that  time  to  the  present. 
But  the  shafts  of  malice  were  aimed  at  him  in  vain. 
His  moral  character  was  beyond  reproach.  His 
habitual  self  respect  and  the  pervading  decorum 
of  his  deportment  defied  ridicule.  His  principles 
were  so  fortified  by  truth,  as  to  gain  ground  amid 
obloquy  and  denunciation.  His  integrity  won 
the  confidence  of  all  candid  men.  His  abilities 
extorted  general  admiration. 

The  ruthless  warfare  carried  on  by  the  exclusive 
party  in  this  country,  against  the  leaders  of  the 
democracy,  is  well  illustrated  by  the  case  of  ^fr. 
Van  Buren,  both  in  its  character  and  its  effects. 
For  nearly  thirty  years  it  has  been  the  constant 
*5 


54  THE  LIFE    OF 

effort  of  his  political  antagonists,  in  public  and  pri 
vate,  by  the  press,  by  conversation  and  in  set 
speeches,  to  lessen  his  influence  with  the  American 
people  and  to  impair  their  confidence  in  his  capa 
city  and  honesty.  The  attempt  has  proved  utterly 
futile.  Indeed,  it  has  indirectly  conduced  to  his 
elevation,  by  drawing  public  attention  to  his  char 
acter  and  subjecting  it  to  a  constant  scrutiny,  well 
calculated  to  disclose  its  excellencies.  The  exam 
ple  will  not  be  without  its  influence  upon  other 
defenders  of  the  true  principles  of  our  government, 
as  it  evinces  how  little  these  violent  attacks  de 
serve  to  be  regarded.  The  people  have  already 
learned  that  these  assaults  are  generally  propor 
tionate  in  their  violence,  to  the  merit  of  the  subject, 
and  that  signal  integrity  of  character  in  a  demo 
crat,  is  most  likely  to  excite  their  greatest  fury. 
It  is  rather  a  matter  of  surprise  that  they  who  re 
sort  to  these  intemperate  measures  have  not  al 
ready  learned  their  futility  ;  since  the  people  have 
almost  uniformly,  delighted  to  honor  those  who 
have  been  most  bitterly  assailed.  Every  one  will 
call  to  mind,  in  this  connection,  the  father  of  Amer 
ican  democracy,  the  illustrious  Jefferson,  and  the 
equally  conspicuous  example  of  our  present,  ven 
erable  chief  magistrate. 

On  this  subject,  as  on  many  others,  the  cardinal 
error  of  the  anti-democratic  party,  is  a  false  esti 
mate  of  the  intellectual  capacity  of  the  people. 
Presuming  upon  their  ignorance  and  credulity, 
they  employ  for  purposes  of  deception,  a  tone  of 
exaggeration  and  hyperbole  which  leads  to  distrust 


MARTIN  VAN  BURRN.  r)5 

and  defeats  its  own  object.  Thus  they  have  lost, 
the  popular  car,  and  their  most  solemn  assevera 
tions  have  ceased  to  influence  any  but  weak 
minds. 

Undismayed  by  persecution,  as  he  had  been 
unmoved  by  persuasion,  Mr.  Van  Buren  steadily 
acted  upon  his  carefully  formed  convictions,  and 
vigorously  co-operated,  on  all  occasions,  with  the 
democratic  party.  Mild  and  unobtrusive  in  his 
personal  deportment,  while  he  never  offensively 
obtruded  his  sentiments  upon  others  or  denounced 
their  opposite  opinions,  he  was  ever  ready,  by  ar 
gument  and  illustration,  to  defend  his  own  tenets 
and  to  enforce  them  in  private  life  or  on  public  oc 
casions. 

Thus  connected  with  a  party,  which,  though  des 
tined,  in  his  own  county,  to  a  long  succession  of 
defeats,  still,  embodied  a  numerous  and  intelli 
gent  portion  of  the  community,  he  naturally  be 
came  the  vindicator  not  only  of  their  political  faith 
but  of  their  legal  rights.  The  conspicuous  po 
sition  in  which  he  \vas  thus  placed,  called  into  ex 
ercise  the  utmost  energy  of  his  mind  and  the  most 
strenuous  exertion  of  his  talents.  We  have  alrea 
dy  seen  that  the  weight  of  legal  talent  and  learn 
ing  was  greatly  on  the  other  side.  To  encounter 
successfully,  in  the  tribunals  of  justice,  the  distin 
guished  antagonists  with  whom  he  was  thus  politi 
cally  and  professionally  brought  in  collision,  re 
quired  the  most  unremitting  industry,  the  most  dil 
igent  preparation,  and  the  most  vigorous  exertion 
of  his  powers.  The  conflicts  in  which  he  thus  en- 


r>(>  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUIIEN. 

gaged  rapidly  invigorated  and  enlarged  his  natural 
powers.  They  quickened  his  apprehension, 
strengthened  his  judgment,  added  clearness  and 
vigor  to  his  reasoning  faculties,  and  brought  into 
full  operation  the  whole  resources  of  his  well  en 
dowed  mind.  It  was  soon  seen  that  he  was  able 
fully  to  cope  with  the  ablest  of  his  opponents  in  the 
local  Courts.  He  soon  challenged  them  to  the  en 
counter  in  a  broader  field.  In  February,  1807,  he 
was  admitted  as  a  counsellor  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  thus  had  opened  to  his  ambition  the 
highest  arena  of  professional  competition.  Upon 
this  arena  he  entered  with  equal  eagerness  and 
equal  success.  He  was  here  brought  into  more 
immediate  collision  with  the  distinguished  men 
whom  years  of  exertion  had  raised  to  the  highest 
professional  eminence. 

In  1808,  the  democratic  party  still  having  the  as 
cendency  in  the  appointing  department  of  the 
State  Government,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  appoin 
ted  Surrogate  of  Columbia  County.  In  the  latter 
part  of  this  year  or  the  beginning  of  1809,  he  remo 
ved  from  the  village  of  Kinderhook  to  the  city  of 
Hudson,  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  his  pro 
fessional  business  in  the  higher  Courts.  He  was 
thus  established  in  the  capital  of  his  native  county, 
with  a  professional  reputation  which  had  already 
extended  considerably  beyond  the  limits  of  that 
county.  At  this  point  he  may  be  considered  as 
having  enterred  upon  the  most  brilliant  period  of 
his  professional  career. 


CP1  AFTER  IV. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  professional  course  from  the  time  of 
his  removal  to  the  city  of  Hudson,  in  the  winter  of  1808 
-9,  until  his  final  withdrawal  from  the  bar,  in  1828. 

It  has  already  been  remarked,  that  the  bar  of 
Columbia  County  embraced,  at  the  period  now 
spoken  of,  some  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers 
in  the  state  of  New  York,  or  indeed  in  the  United 
States.  After  the  promotion  of  William  W.  Van 
Ness  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State,*  the  most  eminent  in  the  remaining  group 
was  the  late  Elisha  Williams.  This  gentleman 
was  a  resident  in  the  city  of  Hudson  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  removal  thither.  As  a  popu 
lar  speaker,  especially,  as  an  advocate  before  a 
jury,  he  was  unrivalled  in  the  State  of  his  resi 
dence,  and  probably  in  the  Union.  He  was  an  ac 
tive  and  ardent  politician,  and  already  stood  at 

*  Mr.  Van  Ness  was  appointed  Judge,  in   June  1£07,  in  placa 
of  Brockholgt  Livingston,  resigned. 


58  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  head  of  the  federal  party  in  that  rogion,  as  Mr. 
Van  Buren  did  at  the  head  of  the  democratic  causo- 
Mr.  Williams  was  then  in  the  prime  of  manhood 
and  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame,  and  was  little  dispo 
sed  to  divide  professional  pre-eminence  with  a  ri 
val  advocate,  or  to  surrender  party  ascendency  to 
a  political  opponent. 

With  such  an  antagonist,  already  in  possession 
of  the  field,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  constrained  to 
measure  his  abilities.  Conspicuous  leaders  of  op 
posite  parties,  rivals  in  personal  interests,  profes 
sional  success  and  political  fame,  they  were  prompt 
ed  to  the  contest  by  every  motive  of  interest, 
duty  and  ambition.  Accordingly  the  Courts  of 
Columbia  county  exhibited,  during  the  period  allu 
ded  to,  the  most  striking  displays  of  forensic  talent 
and  the  most  extraordinary  exhibitions  of  profes 
sional  zeal  and  industry,  on  the  part  of  these  con 
flicting  champions.  The  following  graphic  pic 
ture  of  their  respective  peculiarities  is  from  the 
pen  of  a  gentleman  who  was  an  eye  witness  of 
their  contests,  and  who  is  equally  distinguished  for 
his  professional  eminence  and  the  integrity  of  his 
character,* 

"  Never  were  two  men  more  dissimilar.  Both 
were  eloquent ;  but  the  eloquence  of  Williams 
was  declamatory  and  exciting ;  that  of  Van  Buren, 
insinuating  and  delightful.  Williams  had  the  livlier 
imagination  ;  Van  Buren  the  sounder  judgment, 
The  former  presented  the  strong  points  of  his  case 

*  The  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Duller,  Attonu-y  General  of  the  Uni- 
"reij  States:. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  59 

in  bolder  relief,  invested  them  in  a  more  brilliant 
coloring,  indulged  a  more  unlicensed  and  magnifi 
cent  invective,  and  gave  more  life  and  variety  to 
his  arguments  by  his  peculiar  wit  and  inimitable 
humor ;  but  Van  Buren  was  his  superior  in  analy 
zing,  arranging  and  combining  the  insulated  mate 
rials,  in  comparing  and  weighing  testimony,  in  un 
ravelling  the  web  of  intricate  affairs,  in  eviscerating 
truth  from  the  mass  of  diversified  and  conflicting 
evidence,  in  softening  the  heart  and  moulding  it  to 
his  purpose,  and  in  working  into  the  judgments  of 
his  hearers  the  conclusions  of  his  own  perspicuous 
and  persuasive  reasonings. " 

The  following  interesting  particulars,  from  the 
same  authentic  source,  exhibit  the  honorable  prin 
ciples  by  which  the  competition  of  these  distin 
guished  opponents  was  controlled. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  fierceness  of  their  politi 
cal  collisions,  their  professional  business  was  con 
ducted  in  a  spirit  of  unbounded  liberality  and  chiv- 
alric  confidence.  Legal  technicalities  were  en 
tirely  disregarded,  and  every  thing  that  related  to 
the  mere  form  of  proceeding  was  accommodated 
by  each  to  the  wishes  and  convenience  of  the  other. 
The  tendency  of  this  mode  of  practice  to  beget 
controversy  and  mistake,  even  between  friends,  is 
sufficiently  obvious  ;  it  is  therefore  a  crowning  fact, 
one  that  reflects  honor  not  only  upon  themselves 
but  upon  the  profession  they  adorned,  that  the 
courts  were  never  troubled  with  a  single  special 
motion  growing  out  of  their  conduct  as  practition 
ers,  ;  that  no  complaint  of  unfairness  attempted,  or 


60  THE  LIFE  OF 

advantage  taken,  or  courtesy  withheld,  was  ever 
preferred  by  either,  and  that  each  has  since  borne 
ample  testimony  to  the  generosity  and  good  faith 
with  which  he  was  treated  by  his  adversary." 

The  active  practice  at  the  bar,  in  which  Mr. 
Van  Buren  had  been  hitherto  engaged,  had  some 
what  interfered  with  the  systematic  study  of  his 
profession.  lie  determined,  at  this  time,  to  apply 
himself  to  legal  study  with  unabating  diligence. 
He  had  always  aspired  to  the  highest  distinction 
at  the  bar;  and  feeling  within  him  not  only  the 
desire  but  the  elements  of  success,  he  determined 
not  to  be  deficient  in  any  one  quality  of  a  profound 
and  accomplished  lawyer.  Perhaps  too,  he  was 
stimulated  to  a  greater  effort  in  this  direction,  by 
the  circumstance  that  profound  legal  knowledge 
was  not  the  peculiar  distinction  of  his  great  antago 
nist.  Mr.  Williams  trusted  very  much  to  the 
natural  resources  of  his  powerful  mind  and  was 
led,  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  parts,  into  some  impa 
tience  of  thorough  legal  study.  He  was  rather 
copious  and  oratorical  than  closely  logical  and  ar 
gumentative.  With  a  jury,  few  could  stand  before 
him ;  with  the  Court,  he  did  not  always  command 
equal  success. 

To  this  branch  of  his  profession,  then,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  applied  himself  with  the  most  intense  ardor. 
He  purchased  a  very  extensive  and  well  selected 
library  which  had  been  the  property  of  an  eminent 
lawyer,  then  deceased,  and  devoted  his  best  ener 
gies  to  a  systematic  and  extended  course  of 
reading.  But  he  made  no  parade  of  his  assiduity  ; 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  61 

indeed  his  habits  were  rather  fitted  to  conceal  it. 
During  the  busy  part  of  the  day,  he  was  seen  con 
stantly  mingling  in  conversation  or  engaged  in  his 
ordinary  business,  with  those  who  had  occasion  to 
consult  him.  He  mingled  with  freedom  and  even 
with  zest,  in  the  social  circle  and  more  formal 
visiting  assemblies  ;  and  in  the  habitual  cheerful 
ness  of  his  manner  there  was  nothing  to  indicate 
the  severe  student.  He  chose  that  his  industry 
should  rather  appear  by  its  proper  fruits  at  the  bar, 
than  be  indicated  by  morose  infractions  of  social 
customs,  or  the  anxious,  care  worn  visage  which 
many  put  on,  as  an  evidence  of  severe  thought. 

But  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  he  buried  his 
xvhole  soul  in  the  researches  of  legal  science.  At 
that  propitious  season,  he  knelt  at  the  shrine,  of 
that  "jealous  mistress  which  allows  no  rival,"  and 
communed  with  those  eloquent  oracles  of  enlight 
ened  reason,  which  are  too  often  allowed  to  re 
pose  in  silence  on  the  dusty  shelf. 

During  the  eight  years  he  resided  at  Hudson, 
by  laborious  practice  in  the  courts  and  severe  pri 
vate  study,  he  rapidly  advanced  towards  the  high 
est  rank  in  his  profession.  In  the  mean  time,  his 
extending  practice  had  conducted  him  to  the  high 
er  courts,  and  to  the  tribunal  of  final  resort.*  He 
thus  was  brought  in  contact  with  the  most  eminent 
members  of  his  profession  from  every  section  of 

*The  first  appearance  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  at  the  Bar  of  the  Su 
preme  Court,  was  at  the  May  term  in  the  city  of  New  York  in 
1808,  in  the  case  of  Wilson  and  Gibbs  vs.  Reed.  3  Johnson's 
Reports,  p.  175. 

6 


62  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  state.  Few  men  of  his  age  entered  that  high 
arena  with  equal  advantages,  either  of  natural 
parts  or  of  previous  study  and  discipline.  His  suc 
cess  was  commensurate  with  his  merits  and  efforts. 
They  who  had  hitherto  known  him  only  through 
the  distorted  representations  of  the  party  press, 
were  now  forced  to  the  formation  of  a  more  cor 
rect  estimate.  They  felt  his  powers  and  dreaded 
a  collision  with  him.  They  saw  the  extent  of  his 
legal  learning  and  found  their  utmost  industry 
taxed  to  encounter  it.  Amid  the  most  distinguish 
ed  talent  in  the  State,  his  abilities  were  so  conspic 
uous,  and  his  success  so  eminent,  that  in  February 
1815,  the  republican  party  having  regained  the 
ascendency,  he  was  appointed  Attorney  Gen 
eral  of  the  state.  The  preceding  incumbent  was 
the  venerable  Abraham  Van  Vechten,  a  man  emi 
nently  distinguished  for  his  professional  merit  and 
political  influence,  and  who  still  survives,  the  ven 
erated  father  of  the  New  York  bar. 

The  intellectual  character  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
at  this  period,  is  thus  forcibly  sketched  by  the  same 
hand  that  furnished  the  parallel,  before  inserted, 
between  him  and  Mr.  Williams. 

"  Amongst  such  competitors*  it  was  impossible 
to  acquire,  still  more  to  maintain,  a  factitious  repu 
tation.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  was  based  on  materials 
the  most  durable.  Gifted  with  a  large  share  of 

*Of  these  competitors  it  will  be  sufficient  to  name  Wells  and 
Emmet  of  New  York,  and  J.  V.  Henry  of  Albany ;  men,  (now 
no  more)  whose  professional  eminence  is  familiar  to  the  whole 
American  Bur. 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  63 

good  sense,  with  a  quickness  of  apprehension  al 
most  intuitive,  with  a  nice  discrimination,  and  with 
great  accuracy  of  judgment,  and  illustrating  these 
qualities  by  powers  of  reasoning  and  oratory  rarely 
surpassed,  he  was  peculiarly  qualified  for  the  dis 
cussion  of  those  varied  and  complicated  questions 
of  law,  and  of  fact,  which  are  so  often  presented 
for  decision  in  our  higher  tribunals.  It  was  ac 
cordingly  in  the  management  of  important  cases  in 
the  superior  courts,  that  his  most  successful  efforts 
as  an  advocate  were  made. 

"  Whether  before  a  jury,  or  at  bar,  he  partic 
ularly  excelled  in  the  opening  of  his  subject.  The 
facts  out  of  which  arose  the  questions  for  discus 
sion,  the  nature  of  those  questions,  and  the  mode 
in  which  he  intended  to  treat  them,  were  always 
stated  with  great  clearness  and  address.  In  the 
exposition  of  his  argument  he  was  usually  copious 
and  diffusive,  presenting  his  case  in  all  its  lights, 
and  bringing  to  bear  upon  it  every  consideration 
which  could  tend  to  elucidate  its  me  rits,  or  cover 
its  defects.  His  style  and  manner  were  judiciously 
adapted  to  the  character  of  his  subject,  and  of  his 
hearers  ;  sometimes  direct  and  argumentative,  and 
at  others  discursive  and  impassioned  ;  but  even  in 
the  management  of  the  most  abstruse  legal  topics, 
he  was  able  by  the  perspicuity  of  his  statements, 
the  aptness  of  his  illustrations,  the  vivacity  and 
force  of  his  tone  and  gesture,  and  the  felicity  of  his 
whole  manner,  to  excite  and  to  retain  the  undi 
vided  attention  of  all  classes  of  his  auditors. 

"  No  one  was  better  qualified  to  speak,  with 


r>4  THE  LIFE  OK 

ability  and  effect,  upon  little,  or  without  any  pre 
paration  ;  but  no  one  could  be  more  careful  or  la 
borious  in  his  preparatory  studies.  We  mention 
this  for  the  purpose  of  reminding  the  junior  mem 
bers  of  the  bar,  that  if  they  would  emulate  and 
equal  the  successful  career  we  have  delineated, 
they  must  rely,  not  on  genius  alone,  nor  on  general 
knowledge,  or  a  diversified  experience,  but  on  the 
surer  aids  to  be  derived  from  a  perfect  acquaint 
ance  with  their  subject  and  a  careful  premedita 
tion  of  what  they  are  to  say." 

In  April  1812,  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  been  elect 
ed  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  from  the  then 
Middle  District.  By  this  election,  which  will  be 
more  fully  noticed  in  another  place,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors. 
His  first  sitting  as  a  member  of  that  august  body, 
was  at  Albany,  in  March  1813.  During  that  ses 
sion,  he  delivered  a  very  learned  and  elaborate 
opinion,  in  the  case  of  Barry  vs.  Mandell,  reported 
in  the  tenth  volume  of  Johnson's  Reports,  page 
575.  It  will  not  be  proper  to  embody  many  of  his 
legal  arguments  or  opinions  in  the  present  work  ; 
but  the  following  extract  from  the  case  above  cit 
ed,  will  show  his  sentiments  at  that  early  period 
on  a  topic  of  great  interest,  and  which  has  for  many 
years  occupied  the  attention  of  another  eminent 
statesman,  whose  name  is  closely  connected,  at  the 
present  moment,  with  that  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 

"Permit  me  next,  respectfully  to  examine  with  what 
propriety  it  can  be  alleged,  th  it  escapes  of  this  description 
are  so  far  against,  the  policy  of  the  statute,  as  to  render 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  65 

the  construction  of  the  Court  below,  proper  and  necessa 
ry.  As  it  has  truly  been  remarked,  '  this  Statute  was 
passed  for  humane  purposes  ;'  it  was  among  the  first  con 
cessions  which  were  made  by  that  inflexible  spirit,  which 
has  hitherto  maintained  its  hold  upon  society,  authoriz 
ing  imprisonment  for  debt.  Coeval  with  the  authority  of 
imprisonment  for  debt,  have  been  the  exertions  of  men  of 
intelligence,  reflection  and  philanthropy,  to  mitigate  its 
rigor  ;  of  men  who  viewed  it  as  a  practice  fundamentally 
wrong,  a  practice  which  forces  their  fellow  creatures 
from  society,  from  their  friends  and  their  agonized  fami 
lies,  into  the  dreary  walls  of  a  prison  ;  which  compels 
them  to  leave  all  those  fascinating  endearments,  to  become 
an  inmate  with  vermin  ;  which  confines  them  within  the 
same  walls  which  contain  the  midnight  incendiary  and 
the  ruthless  assassin  ;  not  for  crimes  which  they  have 
committed ;  not  for  frauds  which  they  have  practised  on 
the  credulous  and  unwary  ;  (for  such  distinctions  are  not 
made  ;)  but  for  the  misfortune  of  being  poor;  of  being 
unable  to  satisfy  the  all-digesting  stomach  of  some  raven 
ous  creditor ;  of  men  who  looked  upon  the  practice  as 
confounding  virtue  and  vice,  and  destroying  the  distinc 
tion  between  guilt  and  innocence,  which  should  unceas 
ingly  be  cherished  in  every  well  regulated  government." 

As  Mr.  Van  Buren  held  the  office  of  Attorney 
General  during  a  considerable  portion  of  the  peri 
od  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and 
was  extensively  engaged  in  practice,  as  an  advo 
cate,,  he  seldom  sat  in  the  Court  of  Errors  and  his 
•legaj  opinions  in  that  body  are  less  frequent  than 
they  would  otherwise,  probably,  have  been. 

In  1816,  on  account  of  the  duties  of  his  c^^e 
as  Attorney  General,  and  the  increase  of  his  pro 
fessional  business,  he  removed  from  Hudson  to  Al 
bany.  From  this  time  forth,  his  professional  occu 
pations  were  very  pressing  and  lucrative.  His 
name  appears  in  the  Reports  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  Court  of  Errors,  in  the  state  of  New 
6* 


66  TT1R  L1KK  OF 

York,  in  a  large  number  of  the  most  important  ca 
ses.  He  became  the  frequent  associate  and  antag 
onist  of  such  men  as  Aaron  Burr,  Thomas  Addis 
Emmet,  John  Wells,  Samuel  Jones,  Thomas  J. 
Oakley,  J.  V.  Henry  and  Abraham  Van  Vechten  ;- 
names  familiar  to  the  American  people.  For 
some  years  preceding  his  final  withdrawal  from 
the  bar,  his  practice,  it  is  believed,  was  unsurpass 
ed  in  its  extent  and  responsibility,  by  that  of  any 
lawyer  in  his  native  state,  and  perhaps  in  the 
United  States.  Thus,  after  nearly  twenty  years 
of  unrernitted  industry,  the  highest  wishes  of  his 
early  life  were  crowned  with  complete  fruition. 
Wealth,  influence  and  fame,  were  the  natural 
fruits  of  his  successful  exertion.  His  natural  tal 
ents  had  reached  their  full  expansion  ;  his  labori 
ous  industry  exhibited  its  proper  results ;  and 
amid  a  constellation  of  great  minds,  whose  briliant 
efforts  erected  and  adorned  the  fabric  of  New 
York  jurisprudence,  the  vigor  of  his  intellect,  and 
the  richness  of  his  learning,  won  for  him  a  con 
spicuous  and  acknowledged  eminence. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  provision  is  made, 
in  this  country,  to  preserve  the  best  specimens  of 
forensic  eloquence.  The  arguments  of  counsel, 
addressed  to  the  court,  are  briefly  given  by  report 
ers,  but  are  seldom  interesting  to  any  but  profes 
sional  readers.  But  the  best  speeches  of  every 
eminent  lawyer  are  addressed  to  the  jury,  and 
these  are  seldom  preserved.  It  is  not  known  to 
the  writer  that  any  of  Mr.  Van  Btiren's  speeches 
before  a  jury,  during  his  long  course  of  practice, 


MARTIN  VAX  ETTREX.  (57 

have  been  reported.  And  of  his  legal  arguments, 
seldom  any  thing  more  than  a  bare  statement  of 
the  case  and  a  reference  to  the  authorities,  is  given 
in  the  Reports.  In  the  case  of  Yarick  against 
Jackson,  which  was  tried  in  the  Court  of  Errors, 
at  Albany,  in  1828,  and  is  reported  by  Mr.  Wen 
dell,  in  his  second  volume,  page  166,  the  argument 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  one  of  the  most  profound 
and  difficult  questions  ever  brought  before  that 
Court,  is  given  somewhat  at  length,  and,  as  it  is 
said,  with  great  fidelity.  It  extends  through  twen 
ty-three  pages ;  and  the  professional  reader  may 
be  referred  to  it.  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  learn 
ing  and  talent  which  he  brought  to  the  discussion  of 
topics  of  this  nature.  Aaron  Burr,  who  \vas  sen 
ior  counsel  on  the  same  side,  apparently  consider 
ing  the  subject  as  exhausted,  declined  making  any 
additional  remarks  on  the  main  questions  in  contro 
versy. 

In  the  case  of  AVilkes  vs.  Lion,  argued  before 
the  Court  of  Errors,  at  Albany,  December  1823, 
and  reported  in  the  second  of  Cowen,  page  333, 
the  speech  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  given  at  length. 

This  was  a  case  of  great  interest  and  impor 
tance  :  in  reference  to  a  prominent  point  involved 
in  it,  Chancellor  Kent  is  said,  by  the  Reporter,  to 
have  remarked :  **  this  may  well  be  considered  a 
grave  and  important  question,  demanding  the  ut 
most  care  and  attention  on  the  part  of  this  Court ; 
for  it  was  said  on  the  argument,  that  property,  to 
the  amount  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  depended 
upon  the  decision  to  be  made  in  this  case."  Aaron 


08  TI1R  LIFE  OF 

Burr  was  also  associated  with  Mr.  Van  Buren  in 
the  trial  of  this  case,  and  the  opposing  counsel  were 
S.  Jones  of  New  York,  and  the  late  Samuel  A. 
Talcott,  then  Attorney  General.  The  argument 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren  extends  through  seventeen 
pages  of  the  Report,  and  upon  his  conclusion,  Mr. 
Burr,  remarked  that  "he  should  add  but  little  on 
the  three  first  points  of  the  defence  ;  the  ability 
with  which  all  the  points  had  been  examined  by 
his  associate,  forbade  his  saying  much  in  relation 
to  either." 

The  argument  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  this  case, 
may  be  particularly  commended  to  the  attention 
of  professional  readers,  as  an  example  of  his  ex 
ceeding  clearness  and  felicity  in  opening  an  intri 
cate  case. 

The  following  extracts  from  this  argument  will 
be  interesting  to  the  general  reader,  as  they  may 
be  understood  without  an  abstract  of  the  case,  and 
exhibit  a  fair  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  speaker  treated  subjects  of  this  nature. 

After  a  full  and  clear  statement  of  the  facts,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  said; 

"  This  cause  was  brought  before  the  Superior  Court, 
and  the  questions  which  it  involved,  upon  the  limitations 
over,  were  considered  as  of  a  familiar,  every  day  charac 
ter;  but  in  Anderson  vs.  Jackson,  they  were,  for  the  first 
time,  before  this  Court.  Gentlemen  were  then  heard  up 
on  them  in  another  man's  cause,  depending  upon  the  iden 
tical  clause  nowunder  discussion  ;  and  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  our  favor,  was  affirmed  upon  the  very 
principle  involved  in  the  first  point. 

"  The  decision,  there,  is  said  to  have  been  erroneous, 
and  that  is  the  great  and  only  material  question  in  this 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  69 

cause.  That  decision  I  am  called  upon  to  support :  and  I 
proceed  to  do  it.  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  because  this 
Court  consent  to  hear  me.  It  is  perhaps  proper,  as  the  late 
Chancellor  Kent  gave  a  very  long  and  learned  opinion, 
sustained  by  a  respectable  minority,  against  the  majority 
who  g-ave  the  judgment.  I  also  owe  it  as  a  matter  of  re 
spect  to  this  Court,  to  show  that  its  decision  is  not  to  be 
shaken." 

He  then  furnishes  a  brief  review  of  the  various 
decisions  upon  the  same  principles,  down  to  the 
case  of  Anderson  vs.  Jackson,  and  proceeds  : 

"But  we  shall  be  told  that  the  decision  in  Anderson  vs. 
Jackson,  was  not  unanimous.  True,  it  was  not  so  ;  a  fact 
which  we  looked  upon  as  somewhat  strange  ;  for  we  had 
supposed  the  principle  of  that  case  as  well  settled  as  any 
one  in  the  law.  And  it  was  peculiarly  unfortunate  that 
the  opposition  should  came  from  that  very  quarter  in 
which  we  had  reposed  our  rights.  Yes,  the  late  Chief 
Justice,  (then  Chancellor,)  Kent  gives  an  opinion  which 
occupies  nearly  thirty  pages  in  the  report,  to  show  that 
the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  had  been  grossly  er 
roneous  ! 

'How  stood  the  point,  upon  authority,  on  coming  into 
this  Court  ?  The  parties  came  here  to  litigate  a  principle 
so  fully  and  plainly  established,  in  the  Supreme  Court, 
that  the  decision  of  the  cause,  there,  though  involving  a 
large  amount  of  property,  was  not  deemed  worth  report 
ing.  You  saw  that  principle  concurred  in  by  Kent,  Chief 
Justice,  Thompson,  Chief  Justice,  and  Spencer,  Van 
Ness,  Yates,  and  Platt,  Justices;  after  a  series  of  discus 
sions  almost  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any  principle 
in  our  law.  You  saw  the  same  question  arising  and  the 
same  principle  established  in  neighboring  states  From 
every  source,  opposition  was  hushed;  not  only  with  men 
of  books,  but  in  the  common  walks  of  life.  'You  knew 
that  thousands  of  wills  had  been  made  upon  that  very 
principle,  and  that  if  you  unsettled  the  rule,  you  opened 
Pandora's  box.  You  knew  it  to  be  more  important  that 
the  law  should  be  settled,  than  how  it  should  be  settled. 
You  secured  lo  us  a  principle  which  had  been  established 
in  the  mind  of  every  man  for  a  long  time;  and  you  were 


70  THE  LIFE  OF 

right,  for  the  contrary  would  have  been  incalculably  mis 
chievous. 

"  But  the  propriety  of  your  course  was  questioned  by  a 
long  opinion  from  the  late  Chancellor,  professing  to  show 
this  series  of  adjudications  by  the  most  enlightened  tribu 
nals  in  the  state,  to  be  legal  heresy.  It  is  my  duty  to  ex 
amine  that  opinion.  I  confess  1  do  this  with  reluctance. 
It  was  this,  and  not  any  fears  from  its  effect,  which  led 
me  to  join  in  the  preliminary  objection  made  by  my  asso 
ciate,  against  this  point  being  heard.  In  this,  we  were 
overruled.  The  opinion  lies  in  our  way  and  we  must 
travel  over  it. 

"  With  deference,  then  ; — it  is  an  opinion  inconclusive 
in  all  its  parts,  and  of  the  twenty-six  cases  upon  which  it 
is  founded,  there  is  but  one  which  gives  color  to  it.  *  * 

"  It  was,  at  least,  to  have  been  expected  from  the  late 
Chancellor,  that  he  would  have  shed  a  new  ray  of  light 
upon  the  question,  putting  doubt  at  defiance.  But  I  re 
peat  it,  out  of  twenty-six  cases  relied  on  by  him^Chadock 
vs.  Cowley,  alone,  is  against  us." 

After  an  elaborate  review  of  the  cases  cited  by 
the  Chancellor,  he  proceeds : 

"How  then,  stands  the  question  ?  Does  not  the  word 
survivor,  rescue  this  case  from  the  general  principle  ?  Is 
it  not  clearly  so  ? — This  Court  then  decided,  rightly,  in 
Anderson  vs.  Jackson.  For  four  years  the  law  has  been 
fixed  by  a  court  of  dernier  resort.  Men  have  gone  to 
their  graves  after  having  settled  their  estates  upon  the 
principles  which  you  have  promulgated.  If  erroneous,  it 
is  because  the  decision  was  made  by  men.  You  ought 
not  to  affirm  it  so  much  because  it  was  right,  as  because  it 
was  law.  There  is  hardly  a  will  settling  real  estate 
which  does  not  contain  the  disposition  in  question.  It  is 
the  most  common  case  in  a  devise.  You  have  not  the 
moral  power  to  change  your  ground,  because  it  is  not 
right.  Who  can  know  what  the  law  of  this  state  is,  un 
less  your  decision  is  final  ?  Shall  we  look  into  your  de 
cisions  under  the  idea  that  they  are  to  be  overturned  by  a 
new  set  of  men  who  shall  come  here  to-morrow?  A 
change  of  decision  with  a  change  of  men  would  be  a  less 
evil  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state,  or  of  the  United 
,  because  from  the  tenure  of  the  Judge's  office,  fre- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  71 

quent  changes  are  not  to  be  looked  for.  This  Court  may 
change  once  in  four  years.*  Are  we  barely  enabled  to 
say,  'these  words  meant  a  definite  failure  of  issue  yester 
day,  but  whether  this  will  be  the  law  next  year,  I  will  tell 
you  after  election  ?'  The  law  of  discretion,  with  the 
best  of  men  and  the  best  of  judges,  is,  more  or  less,  the 
creature  of  prejudice  or  passion.  Your  decisions  should 
be  as  stable  as  the  Constitution;  they  should  be  so,  in 
order  that  the  suitor  may,  at  least,  see  one  spot  where  there 
is  an  end  of  uncertainty." 

The  last  appearance  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  before 
a  jury,  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  trial  of  the  cele 
brated  Astor  case,  and  the  case  of  the  Sailors' 
Snug  Harbor,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  fall 
of  1827.  During  the  trial  of  the  latter  case,  Mr. 
Emmet  fell  in  an  apoplectic  fit  from  which  he  nev 
er  recovered. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  last  effort  at  the  bar  was  in 
the  case  of  Varick  vs.  Jackson,  argued  before  the 
Court  of  Errors  at  Albany,  in  the  spring  of  1828. 
At  that  point  his  professional  career  was  interrupt 
ed  by  his  political  promotion.  In  connection  with 
the  former,  however  it  may  be  proper  to  remark 
that  he  was  removed  from  the  office  of  Attorney 
General,  in  July,  1819,  his  political  opponents  hav 
ing  gained  the  ascendency  in  the  council  of  ap 
pointment.  He  had  discharged  the  duties  of  the 
office  with  ability,  for  more  than  five  years.  His 
friends  regained  their  influence  the  following  year, 

*  The  Senators  of  the  state  of  New  York,  eligible  every  four 
years,  together  with  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  Chancellor  and 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  constitute  the  Court  for  the  correc 
tion  of  Errors. 


72  THE  LIFE  OF 

and  a  re-appointment  to  the  same  office  was  ten 
dered  to  him,  but  declined.* 

Thus  has  been  presented  a  summary  view  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  progress  at  the  bar,  during  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  We  have  seen  him 
commencing  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  his  na 
tive  village,  in  his  twenty-first  year,  amid  embar 
rassments  which  could  only  have  been  overcome 
by  extraordinary  perseverance  and  energy.  It 
has  been  truly  said  by  a  great  philosopher  of  mod 
ern  times,  that "  it  belongs  to  the  essence  of  every 
thing  which  is  strong,  to  develope  itself,  to  realize1 
itself/'  This  is  strikingly  evinced  in  the  subject  of 
the  present  narrative.  We  have  seen  his  progress 
from  his  native  village  to  the  capital  of  the  county 
and  thence  to  the  capital  of  the  state.  We  have 
seen  him,  gradually  but  steadily,  rising  in  the  ranks 
of  his  profession,  by  the  force  of  his  talents  and  his 
persevering  industry,  until  he  was  called  to  exer 
cise  the  functions  of  the  highest  law  office  in  the 
state.  We  have  seen  him  ascend  from  the  hum 
blest  judicial  tribunal  to  the  court  of  final  resort. 
We  have  seen  him  encountering  antagonists  of 

*  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  married  in  1806  to  Miss  Hannah  Hoes, 
sister  of  his  brother  in  law,  Barent  Hoes,  Esq.  She  was  dis 
tantly  related  to  him  before  their  marriage.  The  intimacy  which 
resulted  in  this  union  was  formed  in  very  early  life  and  was  con 
summated  amid  circumstances  highly  creditable  to  the  steadfast 
ness  of  his  attachments,  as  soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  as 
seemed  to  be  prudent.  His  ardent  attachment  to  her  was  evinced 
on  all  occasions  until  the  period  of  her  decease,  by  the  consumption 
in  1818.  A  gentleman  of  high  distinction  who  knew  her  inti 
mately,  from  her  earliest  years,  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  present 
writer  "  there  never  was  a  woman  of  a  purer  and  kinder  heart." 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  73 

the  most  eminent  abilitiesr  at  every  step  of  his  pro 
gress,  and  finally  enrolling  hi&  name  in  the  illus 
trious  catalogue  of  great  men,  who  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  present  century,  gave  such  distinc 
tion  and  splendor  to  the  judicial  tribunals  of  New- 
York.  After  such  an  exposition  of  his  success, 
amid  such  circumstances,  to  assert  for  him  a  claim 
to  pre-eminent  talent,  would  but  detract  from  the 
demonstration  afforded  by  the  narrative.  If  it  be 
true  that  intrigue,  without  merit  or  talent,  may 
sometimes  secure  political  distinction,  it  must  at 
least  be  universally  admitted,  that  eminence  in  the 
legal  profession  can  only  be  gained  by  great  abili 
ty  and  great  industry.  In  these  lay  the  secret  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  success.  Such  and  such  only 
was  the  magic  by  which  he  rose  to  eminence.  Let 
those  who  envy  his  success  rather  emulate  his  ex 
ample.  Equal  industry  united  with  equal  talent 
may  be  certain  of  an  equal  reward. 


CHAPTER    V. 


MR  VAN  "Bv REX'S  first  agency  in  political  affairs,  h 
active  in  supporting  the  election  of  Jefferson.  Is  del 
egate  to  a  county  contention  in  his  nineteenth  year. 
His  first  appearance  as  an  elector.  Support*  Lew  is 
Jor  Governor  in  ISOi:  and  Tompkins  in  1807.  />* 
appointed  Surrogate  of  Columbia  County.  Opposes 
the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  U.  S. 
and  the  chartering  of  the  Bank  of  America.  Is  elect 
ed  a  member  of  the  State  Senate. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  the  most  cursory  obser 
ver  of  passing  events  that  the  great  body  of  the  peo 
ple,  throughout  the  world,  and  especially  in  this 
country,  are  rising  against  all  extraneous  and  artifi 
cial  restraint,  and  are  daily  becoming  more  and  more 
"  a  law  unto  themselves."* 

*  In  1828,  it  was  said  by  a  great  philosopher  of  modern  Eu 
rope;  "  The  human  race  is,  this  day,  assuming  the  robe  and  en 
signs  of  virility ;  it  has  determined  to  see  clearly  into  more  things 
than  one,  which  have  hitherto  been  kept  in  darkness  by  the  res 
pect  for  former  years.  I  confess  I  am  myself  among  the  numlier 
of  those  whom  such  an  exhibition  fills  with  gratitude  to  the  provi- 


7t>  THE  LIFE  OF 

This  must  be  a  startling  truth  to  those  who  be 
lieve  in  the  folly,  depravity  and  ignorance  of  the 
gi'eat  mass  of  mankind.  It  is  the  theory  of  our 
.government  that  all  men  are  politically  equal  and 
that  the  supreme  political  power  resides  in  the 
people.  Few  persons  openly  deny  these  princi 
ples,  though  many  practically  resist  them  ;  and  per 
haps  the  full  extent  to  which  they  reach  has  not 
yet  been  fully  appreciated  by  the  most  enlightened 
jiiinds. 

It  is  true  that  an  individual,  taken  at  random 
from  the  mass,  may  seem  incompetent,  in  most  in 
stances,  to  the  management  of  legislative  affairs  : 
but  after  all,  the  aggregate  voice  of  the  majority  is 
the  final  and  supreme  standard  of  political  truth. 
Just  as  in  the  estimates  of  the  duration  of  human 
fife  or  of  the  results  in  a  game  of  chance,  the  age 
of  a  single  individual  or  the  throw  of  a  single  die 
furnishes  no  certain  basis  of  calculation  ;  yet  when 
great  numbers  are  considered,  certain  estimates 
may  be  formed  of  general  results.  80  in  political 
matters ;  how  erroneous  soever  individual  opinions 
may  appear,  experience  has  shown  and  reason 
would  demonstrate,  that  the  general  conclusions 
derived  from  the  aggregate  voices  of  a  great  peo 
ple,  are  always  right. 

From  the  doctrine  of  popular  supremacy  it  fol 
lows,  that  the  nature  of  a  political  office,  in  this 

dence  of  God,  for  having  given  them  birth  in  an  epoch,  wherein  ii 
has  pleased  him,  gradually,  to  elevate  to  the  highest  degree  of  in 
telligence,  a  greater  number  than  ever  of  their  frJJowr  men," 
0y/?;V.<  Jnlrfl.  //;.'.;/.  Phil,  Jjfc.  ii. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  77 

country,  is  the  exact  opposite  of  a  similar  franchise 
in  aristocratic  governments.  Office  holders  are, 
here,  the  servants  and  not  the  rulers  of  the  people. 
The  real  monarch  is  the  private  citizen  ;  the 
private  station  is  the  real  post  of  honor.  The 
American  private  citizen  has  no  political  superior 
upon  earth.  Hence,  in  foreign  countries,  the  peo 
ple  are  not  his  equals ;  he  is  of  the  same  rank  with 
their  monarchs.  The  office-holder  in  this  coun 
try  is  in  a  state  of  obedience  ;  his  constituents  are 
masters.  If  these  truths  were  duly  appreciated, 
there  would  be  less  scrambling  for  the  privilege  of 
becoming  every  body's  servant.  It  would  be  felt 
that  the  station  most  worthy  of  the  character  of  a 
freeman,  is  that  of  a  private  citizen. 

Nothing  more  distinctly  characterizes  the  two 
great  parties  in  this  country,  than  the  relation  in 
which  they  respectively  stand  to  their  political 
leaders.  The  anti-democratic  party,  regarding 
government  as  a  matter  too  important  and  intricate 
to  be  trusted  to  the  integrity  and  capacity  of  com 
mon  people,  cast  around  for  great  men  to  sustain 
its  functions  and  regulate  its  principles.  Distrust 
ing  the  capacity  of  the  people  for  self-government, 
they  search  after  men  of  splendid  talents  to  govern 
them.  Destitute  of  self-reliance,  they  grope  about 
for  some  independent  spirit  whom  they  may  follow 
as  a  guide.  They  love  to  be  governed ;  they  feel 
great  reverence  for  high  birth,  wealth  and  station ; 
and  delight  to  do  homage  to  some  political  idol. 
Their  leaders  are,  often,  men  of  powerful  intellect, 
ardent  feelings  and  lofty  ambition.  They  are 
7* 


;*,  THE  LIFE  OF 

never  hampered  by  the  instructions  of  their  con 
stituents,  who  are  content  to  submit  themselves  to 
the  discretion  of  those  whom  they  appoint  to  office. 
The  democratic  party  sustain  a  very  different 
relation  to  the  men  whom  they  put  in  office.  Their 
sympathies  are  most  strongly  drawn  towards  the 
individual  who  can  best  embody  and  express  the 
spirit  of  their  own  principles.  They  want,  for 
public  office,  servants  and  not  masters  ;  agents  who 
will  execute  their  will  and  not  dictators  to  control 
it.  The  individual  is  nothing  ;  his  individual  mer 
its  or  demerits  are  nothing.  It  is  only  as  a  faith 
ful  representative  of  the  pervading  feelings  and 
principles  of  his  fellow  men,  their  interests  and 
their  wants,  that  he  is  invested  with  distinction  and 
entrusted  with  the  exercise  of  power.  He  is 
merely  in  front  of  public  sentiment,  not  its  director 
or  governor.  It  is  his  function  to  embody  and  dis 
play  the  spirit  of  his  age  and  nation,  and  while  he 
may  seem  to  lead  public  sentiment  he  is  merely 
borne  forward  by  its  tide.  The  sentiments  which 
are  common  to  the  great  mass,  but  which  exist  in 
ordinary  minds  in  more  or  less  indistinctness  and 
confusion,  are,  in  his  example,  developed,  illustra 
ted  and  brought  into  action.  Apparently  a  leader, 
he  is,  in  fact,  but  the  representative  of  the  general 
spirit  of  his  age  and  of  the  great  mass  of  the  peo 
ple  with  whom  he  is  connected.  Between  him  and 
the  body  of  his  fellow  men  there  exists  an  interior, 
spontaneous  and  irresistible  sympathy ;  a  sympa 
thy  which  directs  them  to  him  as  a  fit  agent  to 
demonstrate  and  execute  their  own  feelings  and 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  79 

As  I  he  personifications  of  their  own  most 
sacred  convictions,  they  regard  him  with  confi 
dence,  enthusiasm,  devotion.  They  recognize  in 
him  the  spirit  of  their  time,  the  very  spirit  of  them 
selves  ;  and  every  energetic  display  of  his  princi 
ples  awakens  a  kindred  response  of  feeling  in  their 
own  bosoms. 

This  is  the  true  secret  of  the  unbounded  confi 
dence  reposed  in  our  present  chief  magistrate.  He 
embodies  and  represents,  more  completely  and  fully 
than  any  other  man,  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  na 
tion.  This  is  the  only  unerring  characteristic  of  a 
truly  great  man.  Devotion  to  a  faction  may  win 
reputation  ;  notoriety  will  follow  the  exhibition  of 
striking  parts ;  but  true  greatness  consists  in  em 
bodying  the  feelings,  securing  the  confidence,  and 
commanding  the  admiration  of  the  great  mass  of 
the  people. 

This  feeling  of  confidence  and  sympathy,  on  the 
part  of  the  great  majority  of  the  people,  has  ac 
companied  Martin  Van  Buren  from  the  first  period 
of  his  entrance  upon  the  arena  of  political  life. 
Guided  by  his  own  internal  convictions  of  right 
and  wrong,  of  truth  and  falsehood,  he  has  never 
theless  had  the  good  fortune  to  reflect  as  in  a  mir 
ror,  the  sentiment  and  spirit  of  the  nation  and  the 
epoch. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  complete  identity  with  the 
popular  cause  in  the  earliest  part  of  his  life,  has 
been  alluded  to  in  the  former  part  of  this  narrative. 
His  first  active  participation  in  political  affairs 
was  in  the  great  contest  which  preceded  the  eleva- 


80  THE  LIFE  OF 

lion  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  presidency,  in  1801. — 
lie  was  at  that  time  a  student  at  law  in  Kinder- 
hook,  and  espoused  the  interests  of  the  democratic 
party  with  the  greatest  ardor.  His  early  devotion 
to  the  popular  cause  secured  him  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  the  democratic  party  in  his  native 
town.  The  same  feeling  soon  extended  through 
out  the  county,  and  in  the  winter  of  1800 — 1,  he 
was  deputed  by  the  republicans  of  Kinderhook  to 
represent  their  sentiments,  in  a  convention  of  dele 
gates  from  Rerisselaer  and  Columbia  counties, 
which  convened  to  nominate  a  representative  to 
Congress. 

Thus,  we  find  him  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen 
years,  entrusted  with  the  expression  of  the  politi 
cal  views  of  a  portion  of  the  democratic  party.  His 
abilities  were  put  in  requisition  on  that  occasion, 
in  preparing  an  address  to  the  electors  of  the  dis- 
Irict. 

Similar  marks  of  confidence  were  reposed  in 
him  during  every  year  in  the  remainder  of  his  mi 
nority  ;  and  he  mingled,  constantly  and  actively, 
with  the  veteran  politicians  of  the  county  in  the 
political  contests  of  the  day. 

He  entered  upon  his  twenty-first  year  in  the  fall 
of  1803,  and  the  ensuing  spring,  made  his  first  ap 
pearance  at  the  polls  as  an  elector.  At  that  elec 
tion,  Morgan  Lewis  and  Aaron  Burr  were  the  op 
posing  candidates  for  the  office  of  Governor.  Both 
professed  to  belong  to  the  democratic  party  ;  but 
the  latter  was  arrayed  against  the  general  admin 
istration,  and  the  former  was  the  candidate  of  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BTJREN.  81 

majority  of  Jeffersonian  democrats.  In  this  con 
test,  the  circumstances  of  the  case  imposed  upon 
Mr.  Van  Buren  a  severe  test  of  his  integrity  and 
independence.  Col.  Burr  was  warmly  sustained 
by  many  leading  politicians  in  Columbia  county, 
among  whom  were  some  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
warmest  political  friends.  During  his  own  resi 
dence  as  a  student  at  law,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
he  had  received  many  flattering  marks  of  attention 
from  the  thea  Vice  President,  who  embraced 
among  his  most  zealous  personal  and  political 
friends,  Mr.  Wtfliam  P.  Van  Ness,  with  whom  Mr. 
Van  Buren  was  a  student.  But  true  to  Jiis  own 
principles  and  the  spirit  of  his  party,  lie  gave  his 
vigorous  and  unhesitating  support  to  Mr.  Lewis,  at 
the  hazard  of  a  temporary  estrangement  from  se 
veral  valued  friends,  who  had  hitherto  also  repre 
sented  the  feelings  of  the  democracy. 

In  1807,  the  antagonist  candidates  for  the  office 
of  Governor,  were  Morgan  Lewis  and  Daniel  D, 
Tompkins.  The  latter,  as  the  candidate  of  the 
democratic  party  and  the  most  faithful  organ  of  its 
sentiments,  received  Mr.  Van  Buren's  zealous 
and  decided  support  He  was  elected  by  a 
Majority  of  4085  votes.  In  1801,  Mr.  Tompkins 
received  from  Mr.  Van  Buren  a  similar  support 
Indeed  the  views  of  these  two  eminent  politicians 
appear  to  have  been  strikingly  similar  to  each  oth- 
er  on  the  leading  political  questions  of  that  period. 
In  1808,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  appointed  Surro 
gate  of  Columbia  county,  and  retained  the  office 
witfU  February,  1813  ;  when  his  political  opponent* 


82  THE  LIFE  OF 

having   regained  a  temporary  ascendency,  he  was* 
promptly  removed. 

As  the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson  had  called  forth 
the  earliest  exertions  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  his  ad 
ministration  received,  daring  its  whole  course,  his 
unremitting  support.  Never  for  a  moment  did  he 
waver  or  relax  in  his  exertions.  The  democratic 
principles  which  gave  the  first  direction  to  his  po 
litical  course,  continued  to  be  his  steady  rule  of  ac 
tion.  In  that  gloomy  period,  w*hen  the  threatening 
aspect  of  our  foreign  relations,  suspended  com 
mercial  intercourse  and  forbode  ruin  to  the  enter- 
prize  and  industry  of  our  country,  he  shrunk  not 
from  the  firm  support  of  the  firmest  measures.  The 
non-intercourse  act,  the  embargo  and  every  effi 
cient  measure  of  the  administration  for  the  security 
of  our  national  rights,  received  his  hearty  concur 
rence.  In  the  forcible  language  of  another:— 
"  His  support  of  the  government  was  not  merely 
active  but  zealous  ;  nor  was  his  the  zeal  of  ordina 
ry  men.  It  absorbed  his  whole  soul ;  it  led  to  un 
tiring  exertion  ;  it  wras  exhibited  on  all  occasions 
and  under  all  circumstances.  Neither  the  con 
tumely  of  inflated  wealth,  nor  the  opposition  of  in 
vidious  talent,  nor  the  weekly  rcvilings  of  a  licen 
tious  press,  could  awe  it  into  silence  or  soften  it 
to  moderation." 

In  the  mean  time,  his  political  influence  and  re 
putation  was  rapidly  extending  beyond  the  coun 
ty  of  his  residence.  At  a  political  meeting  in  Al 
bany,  in  1811,  consisting  principally  of  the  repub 
lican  members  of  the  Legislature,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
was  present  and  took  a  leading  part. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  83 

At  this  period,  the  question  of  the  renewal  of 
the  charter  of  the  first  Bank  of  the  United  States 
was  violently  agitated.  That  charter  expired  on 
the  4th  of  March  1811.  On  the  2d  of  March 
1809,  Mr.  Gallatin,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  made  a  report  upon  the  subject,  concluding 
with  a  proposition  for  the  renewal  of  the  charter. 
On  the  20th  of  February  1811,  after  a  protracted 
debate,  a  vote  was  taken  upon  the  main  question 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mem 
bers  wrere  equally  divided.  The  venerable  George 
Clinton,  then  Vice  President  of  the  United 
States,  sealed  the  fate  of  the  bill,  by  his  casting 
vote  against  it.  This  vote  was  in  strict  accordance 
writh  the  vie\vs  of  the  democracy  of  the  country. 
It  was  warmly  defended  and  justified  by  Mr.  Van 
Buren. 

When  the  prospect  of  the  continuance  of  the 
United  States  Bank  disappeared,  application  was 
made  to  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  by  a  pow 
erful  association,  to  charter  a  Bank  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  with  a  capital  of  six  millions  of  dol 
lars,  to  be  called  the  Bank  of  America.  The 
petitioners  supported  their  application  by  proposi 
tions  well  calculated  to  appeal  to  temporary  and 
pecuniary  interests  :  they  offered  a  bonus  of  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  a  loan  of  two  mill 
ions  on  easy  terms  ;  propositions  which  were  the 
more  opportune,  as  the  great  system  of  internal 
improvements  in  the  state  had  already  been  agi 
tated.  It  is  wrell  known  that  those  fathers  of  de 
mocracy,  George  Clinton  and  Daniel  D.  Tomp- 


v}  THE  LIFE  OF 

kins,  were  opposed  to  banking  incorporations  of 
almost  every  kind.  Mr.  Van  Burexi  coincided 
with  them  in  this  sentiment,  and  it  was  doubtless 
the  general  sentiment  of  the  democracy  of  the 
state.  They  regarded  the  Bank  of  America  as  a 
substitute  for  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
the  latter  institution  was  never  viewed  with  a 
friendly  eye  by  the  democratic  party. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  took  the  strongest  ground  against 
the  proposed  incorporation. 

A  convention  of  the  republicans  of  the  county 
was  held  in  reference  to  the  measure,  at  which 
he  delivered  a  powerful  speech  against  it,  as  a 
proposition  fraught  with  danger  to  the  public  weal. 
The  convention  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions, 
prepared  by  him,  denouncing  the  scheme  as  anti- 
republican  and  dangerous. 

Such  however  was  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
applicants,  by  open,  and  as  it  was  believed,  by  cor 
rupt,  secret  means,  that  in  the  spring  of  1812,  the 
most  serious  indications  appeared  in  the  Legisla 
ture  of  a  disposition  to  grant  the  proposed  char 
ter. 

In  this  emergency,  Governor  Tompkiris,  with  a 
degree  of  firmness  which  has  few  parallels  in  polit 
ical  history,  prorogued  the  Legislature  from  March 
27th  to  the  21st  of  May.  This  energetic  meas 
ure  received  the  support  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  ut 
most  influence  and  best  talents.  Upon  the  re-as 
sembling  of  the  Legislature  in  May,  the  act  was 
passed  in  the  Senate  by  a  majority  of  three  votes, 
embracing  the  names  of  Edward  P.  Livingston 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  85 

and  Morgan  Lewis,  as  well  as  of  some  other 
members  of  the  democratic  party,  and  became  a 
law,  by  the  approbation  of  a  majority  of  the 
council  of  Revision. 

At  this  juncture,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was,  for  the 
first  time,  a  candidate  for  an  elective  office,  having 
been  nominated  as  a  Senator  from  the  then  Mid 
dle  District.  His  opponent  was  Edward  P.  Liv 
ingston,  a  gentleman  of  eminent  worth  and  talent, 
with  powerful  family  friends,  and  strong  political 
connections.  Circumstances  had  indeed  placed 
him,  temporarily  in  a  false  position  with  respect 
to  the  democracy  of  the  district ;  but  he  received 
the  warm  support  of  many  who  had  formerly  been 
distinguished  in  the  republican  ranks. 

The  opposition  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  embraced  the 
entire  federal  party ;  the  former  friends  of  Col. 
Burr  and  Governor  Lewis ;  and  the  partizans  of 
the  proposed  Bank  of  America. 

The  contest  was  one  of  the  most  violent  ever 
known  in  the  state,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  by  a  majority  of  less  than  two 
hundred  out  of  twenty  thousand  votes. 

Thus,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age,  he  was 
placed  in  the  highest  branch  of  the  Legislature  of 
his  state  ;  and  from  this  time  forth  he  has  constant 
ly  appeared  as  a  public  man. 


CHAPTER    VI 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  course  in  the  Senate  of  New  York  in 
regard  to  the  War  and  the  support  of  De  Witt  Clin 
ton  for  the  Presidency.  Supports  Tompkinsfor  Gov 
ernor  in  1813.  His  energetic  support  of  the  War. 

MR.  Van  Buren's  legal  term  of  service  in  thd 
Senate  of  New  York  began  on  the  4th  of  July 
1812.  His  first  actual  entrance  upon  the  duties 
of  the  office  was  in  the  November  following,  at  a 
special  session  of  the  Legislature  convened  to 
choose  presidential  electors.  His  course,  at  this 
period,  has  been  so  fully  described  by  a  gentleman 
whose  means  of  information  were  complete,  and 
whose  candor  and  integrity  are  beyond  all  ques 
tion,  that  the  present  writer  would  do  injustice  to 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  by  omitting  to  adopt 
that  gentleman's  own  words.*  The  extracts  re- 

*  Letter  of  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  to  Hugh  A.  Garland,  Esq. 
of  Virginia,  in  March  1835, 


88  THE  LIFE  OF 

late  to  the  course  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  regard  to 
the  nomination  of  De  Witt  Clinton  for  the  Presi 
dency,  and  his  course  in  relation  to  the  War. 

"  The  Republican  members  of  the  Legislature  of  New 
York,  elected  in  the  spring  of  1811,  resolved,  during  their 
session  in  the  spring  of  1812,  to  meet  in  Convention,  for 
the  purpose  of  nominating  a  candidate  for  the  Presiden 
cy.  Their  numerical  strength  in  the  two  Houses,  was 
nearly  one  hundred.  Of  this  number,  eighty-seven  met  in 
Convention  on  the  29th  of  May,  181:3,  and  unanimously 
nominated  Mr.  Clinton  ;  who.  on  being  informed  of  the 
nomination,  accepted  it.  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  not  then  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  nor  was  he  in  any  way  con 
nected  with  these  proceedings.  He,  however,  concurred 
in  the  propriety  of  supporting  the  nomination  thus  made 
and  accepted — and  at  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  held 
in  November  1812,  in  conjunction  with  a  majority  of  the 
republican  members  of  each  branch,  he  took  a  decided 
part  in  the  support  of  Presidential  electors,  who  were  vo 
ted  for  as  friendly  to  Mr.  Clinton,  and  who  ultimately 
gave  him  the  vote  of  the  state. 

"  The  Republican  members  of  the  Legislature  of  1811 
-12,  who  brought  forward  Mr.  Clinton  as  a  candidate, 
had  been  themselves  nominated  and  chosen,  by  the  re 
publican  electois  of  the  several  counties  and  districts,  in 
the  manner  usually  adopted  in  New  York,  and  were  con 
sidered  the  Representatives  of  the  democracy  of  the 
state.  They  and  their  constituents  had  supported  the 
Admistration  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  that  also  of  Mr.  Mad 
ison,  in  all  the  great  questions  of  public  policy  connected 
with  our  foreign  relations.  The  great  mass  of  them,  so 
far  from  being  opposed  to  belligerent  measures  against 
Great  Britain,  were  in  favor  of  a  more  decided  policy  than 
had  been  pursued  towards  her. 

"In  regard  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  this  was  peculiarly  the 
case.  There  was  probably  no  person  in  the  state,  of  his 
own  age,  who  had  given  a  more  efficient  support  to  the 
measures  of  the  General  Government,  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  restrictive  system,  than  himself.  His  co- 
temporaries  of  all  parlies, 'in  the  county  of  his  residence, 
might  be  applied  to  as  witnesses,  on  this  point.  Pie  was 
an  "open  and  decided  advocate  of  all  the  strong  measures 
proposed  against  Great  Britain,  during  the  session  of  Con- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  89 

gress  of  1811 — 12,  the  war  included.  Having  been  horn 
and  reared  in  the  same  town — having  been,  from  July 
1812,  until  after  the  peace,  an  inmate  of  his  family,  I  am 
able  to  speak  on  this  subject,  from  personal  knowledge. 
No  man  of  character,  acquainted  with  his  course  and 
opinions  in  1812,  will  venture  to  assert  that  he  ever  ex 
pressed  a  doubt  as  to  the  justice  of  the  war,  or  the  expe 
diency  of  engaging  in  it,  at  the  time  it  was  declared, 

"In  supporting  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Clinton,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  consulted  what  he  believed  to  be  the  wishes 
of  the  republicans  of  his  state.  His  efforts,  however, 
were  confined  to  New  York.  With  those  made  by  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Clinton,  in  other  states,  he  had  no  concern. 
And  though  in  the  choice  of  electors,  Mr.  Clinton  ulti 
mately  received  the  votes  of  the  federal  members  of  the 
Legislature  of  New  York,  and  was  also  supported  by  that 
party  in  other  states,  Mr.  Van  Buren's  relations  to  it' were 
entirely  unaltered.  The  hostility  towards  him,  of  the  fed 
eralists  as  a  party,  in  the  county  in  which  he  then  resided, 
was  as  decided  and  as  violent,  during  the  year  1812,  as  it 
had  been  before,  or  was  afterwards.  Indeed,  it  has  never 
been  withdrawn,  nor  suspended,  from  the  commencement 
of  his  political  career  to  the  present  day.  Occasional 
exceptions  might  be  made  in  regard  to  individuals,  but 
not  enough  to  vary  the  general  result. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  submitted  to  the  judgment  of 
intelligent  and  candid  men,  that  whether  the  support  of 
Mr.  Clinton  was  right  or  wrong,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
mere  fact  of  that  support,  under  the  circumstances  stated, 
to  sustain  the  imputation  of  opposition  to  the  war. 

"  Let  me  now  give  you  a  summary  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
public  course  in  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  so  far  as 
it  bears  upon  this  point.  As  has  been  stated,  he  took  his 
seat  in  the  Senate  of  New  York,  in  November,  1812. 

"  Until  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  in  1821,  the 
Governor,  instead  of  a  message,  delivered  a  speech  to  the 
Legislature,  at  the  opening  of  each  session.  An  answer 
was  made  to  the  speech,  by  each  house,  in  which  the 
views  of  the  majority  upon  the  prominent  political  ques 
tions  of  the  day,  were  set  forth,  and  thus  made  the  sub 
ject  of  discussion,  before  any  legislative  measures  in  re 
spect  to  them,  were  matured.  Committees  were  appoin 
ted  to  prepare  the  answer,  a  majority  of  whom  would,  it 
was  supposed,  be  most  able  and  willing  to  present  faithful 
ly  the  views  of  the  minority  of  their  respective  houses, 
and  the  strongest  man  of  the  minority  was  usually  select* 


90  THE  LIFE  OF 

ed  to  offer  a  substitute.  Although  this  was  Mr.  Vran  Ba 
ren's  first  appearance  in  any  legislative  body,  he  being, 
with  perhaps  a  single  exception,  the  youngest  man  that 
had,  up  to  that  time,  been  elected  to  the  Senate,  he  was 
placed  upon  the  committee,  and  prepared  and  reported  the 
answer  to  the  Governor's  speech.  This  answer  was  pub 
lished  by  his  friends  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  It  vindi 
cated  the  justice  of  the  war,  and  urged  a  vigorous  prose 
cution.  This  you  will  observe,  was  at  the  very  session 
at  which  electors  were  chosen  friendly  to  Mr.  Clinton. 

"At  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Legislature,  which 
commenced  in  January  1S13,  the  political  relations  previ 
ously  existing  between  Mr.  Clinton  and  Mr.  Van  Buren 
were  dissolved,  and  never  again  resumed.  The  disastrous 
results  of  the  preceding  year  had  then  begun  to  press 
heavily  on  the  country,  and  especially  on  the  state  of 
New  York.  Her  course  in  respect  to  the  war,  became  there 
fore  a  matter  of  the  first  importance.  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
from  the  commencement  of  his  legislative  career,  gave  to 
all  war  measures  the  most  decided  and  vigorous  support. 
Independently  of  his  speeches  and  votes  on  the  floor  of 
the  Senate,  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  re-nomination  of 
Governor  Tompkins,  and  was  appointed  by  the  meeting 
to  prepare  an  address  to  the  republican  electors  in  support 
of  this  nomination.  In  this  paper  he  went  at  large  into 
the  causes  and  grounds  of  the  war,  and  vindicated,  with 
much  force  of  reasoning,  and  with  all  the  fervor  of  youth 
ful  patriotism,  the  indispensable  doty  and  high  justice  of 
the  measure.  In  the  recent  compilation  of  Mr.  Emmcns, 
which  you  may  have  seen,  you  may  find  copious  extracts 
from  this  address.  No  man  I  think  cm  read  them  with 
out  a  decided  conviction  of  the  writer's  sincerity  and  zeal. 

"  In  April,  18 13,  Governor  Tompkins  was  re-elected  ;  but 
the  federalists  obtained  a  majority  in  the  house  of  Assem 
bly.  During  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  which 
commenced  in  January.  1814,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  again 
conspicuous  during  the  war,  and  as  the  popular  branch 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  opposition,  the  course  of  the  Sen 
ate  became  doubly  important.  He  assisted  in  carrying 
through  the  Senate  several  measures  intended  to  aid  the 
General  Government  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  which 
were  rejected  by  the  other  house,  and  in  the  public  con 
ferences  to  which  these  differences  between  the  two  hous 
es  led,  was  one  of  the  principal  speakers  on  the  part  of 
the  Senate.  At  the  special  session  of  the  Legislature  of 
New  York,  held  in  September,  1814,  his  efforts,  though 


MARTIN    VAN  BUREN.  91 

not  more  zealous,  were  more  efficient  and  useful — the  dem 
ocratic  party  having  in  the  mean  time  regained  their  as 
cendency  in  the  Assembly.  This  session  had  been  con 
vened  by  Executive  proclamation,  in  consequence  of  the 
new  character  which  had  been  given  to  the  war  during 
the  year,  and  of  the  exposed  condition  of  the  state.  The 
answer  of  the  Senate  to  the  speech  of  the  Governor,  again 
prepared  by  him  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  and  which 
you  will  also  find  in  the  compilation  of  »Mr.  Emmons,  re 
affirmed  the  justice  of  the  contest  on  our  part,  adverted  to 
the  eventful  nature  of  the  crisis,  Us  dangers,  and  its  du 
ties,  and  pledged  to  the  state  and  Union,  the  active  co-op 
eration  of  the  Senate.  I  think,  on  perusing  it,  you  will 
agree  that  it  was  in  keeping  with  the  character  and  exi 
gency  of  the  times. 

"  During  this  special  session,  Mr.  Van  Buren  matured, 
brought  forward  and  defended  in  debate,  several  war 
measures  of  the  strongest  character.  Of  these  the  most 
prominent  was  '  An  act  to  authorize  the  raising  of  troops 
for  the  defence  of  the  state,'  which  passed  both  houses, 
and  being  approved  by  the  Governor,  became  a  law  on  the 
24th  of  October,  1814.  It  authorized  the  Governor  to 
place  at  the  disposal  of  the  General  Government,  12,000 
men  for  two  years,  to  be  raised  by  suitable  classifications 
of  the  militia  of  the  state  ;  but  with  such  improvements 
in  its^details  as  to  avoid  many  of  the  inequalities  and  oth 
er  objectionable  features  of  the  former  system  of  militia 
drafts.  This  law  has  been  truly  characterized  by  Col. 
Benton,  in  his  late  letter  to  the  committee  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Convention,  'as  the  most  energetic  war  measure 
ever  adopted  in  this  country.'  In  the  Legislature,  it  en 
countered  the  most  strenuous  opposition,  which  was  con 
tinued  after  the  adjournment  of  that  body,  and  until  the 
restoration  of  peace.  A  copy  of  it  was,  soon  after  its  in 
troduction,  delivered  to  Mr.  Munroe,  then  Secretary  of 
War,  and  it  would  seern  to  have  suggested  to  that  gentle 
man  some  portion  of  the  plan  submitted  by  him  to  Con 
gress,  in  his  report  of  the  15th  of  October,"l814. 

"  At  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Legislature,  which  com 
menced  in  January  1815,  Mr.  Van  Buren  again  took  the 
lead  in  support  of  the  war;  and  was  actually  engaged,  as 
chairman  of  a  committee,  appointed  on  his  motion,  to  con 
sider  whether  any  additional  provisions  were  necessary 
to  carry  the  classification  law,  into  immediate  and  suc 
cessful  operation,  in  the  deliberations  of  that  committee, 


cj2  THE  LIFE  OF 

when  the  news  of  peace  was  received  at  the  seat  of  gov-* 
ernment."* 

In  the  above  extract  it  is  stated  that  Mr.  Van 
Buren  supported  the  re-election  of  Governor 
Tompkins  in  1813.  He  was  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  which  made  the  nomination,  and  the  follow 
ing  extracts  are  from  an  address  to  the  republican 
electors,  written  by  him  and  adopted  by  the  con 
vention. 


"  FELLOW  CITIZENS  —  It  is  not  to  the  arbitrary  man 
dates  of  despotic  power,  that  your  submission  is  demand 
ed  ;  it  is  not  to  the  seductive  wiles  and  artful  blandish 
ments  of  the  corrupt  minions  of  aristocracy,  that  your  at 
tention  is  called  —  but  to  an  expression  and  discussion  of 
the  wishes  and  feelings  of  your  representatives, 

"You  are  invited  to  listen  with  calmness  and  impar 
tiality,  to  the  sentiments  and  opinions  of  men  who  claim 
no  right  superior  to  yours,  —  who  claim  no  anthorily  to 
address  you  save  that  of  custom  ;  who  would  scorn  to 
obtain  the  coincidence  of  your  opinion  by  force  or  strata 
gem,  and  who  seek  no  influence  with  you,  except  that 
which  arises  from  conscious  rectitude,  from  a  community 
of  hopes  and  fears,  of  right  and  of  interests, 

"  In  making  this  appeal,  which  is  sanctioned  by  usuage 
and  the  necessity  of  which  is  rendered  imperious  by  the 
situation  of  our  common  country,  we  feel  it  to  be  our  du 
ty,  as  it  is  our  wish,  to  speak  to  you  in  the  language  which 
alone  becomes  freemen  to  use  —  the  language  to  which 
alone  it  becomes  freemen  to  listen  —  the  language  of  truth 

*  The  original  draft  of  the  Classification  Law,  in  the  hand 
writing  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  is  still  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk 
of  the  Senate  of  New  York,  AV  ith  the  folio  wing  memorandum,  also 
in  the  handwriting  of  Mr,  Van  Buren  : 

"  The  original  Classification  Bill,  to  be  preserved  as  a  memen 
to  of  the  patriotism,  intelligence  and  firmness  of  the  Legislature  of 
1814-15. 

M,  V.  B.  Albany,  Feb.  15,  1815." 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  93 

and  sincerity  ; — to  speak  to  you  of  things  as  they  are  and 
as  they  should  be, — to  speak  to  you  with  unrestrained 
freedom,  of  your  rights  and  your  duties, — and  if  by  so  do 
ing  we  shall  be  so  fortunate  as  to  convince  you  of  the 
correctness  of  the  opinions  we  hold;  to  communicate  to 
you  the  anxious  solicitude  we  feel  for  our  country  and  its 
rights;  to  turn  your  attention  from  the  minor  considera 
tions  which  have  hitherto  divided,  distracted,  and  disgra 
ced  the  American  people,  and  to  direct  it  exclusively  to 
the  contemplation  and  support  of  your  national  honor  and 
national  interests,  our  first  and  only  object  will  be 
effected. 

"  That  tempest  of  passion  and  of  lawless  violence 
which  has  hitherto  almost  exclusively  raged  in  the  coun 
tries  of  the  old  world,  which  has  ravaged  the  fairest  por 
tions  of  the  earth,  and  caused  her  sons  to  drink  deep  of  the 
cup  of  human  misery — not  satiated  oy  the  myriads  of  vic 
tims  which  have  been  sacrificed  at  its  shrine,  has  reached 
our  hitherto  peaceful  shores.  After  years  of  forbearance 
in  despite  of  concessions  without  number,  and  we  had  al 
most  said,  without  limitation,  that  cruel  and  unrelenting 
spirit  of  oppression  and  injustice  which  has  for  centuries 
characterized  the  spirit  of  the  British  cabinet,  overwhelm 
ed  nation  after  nation,  and  caused  humanity  to  shed  tears 
of  blood,  has  involved  us  in  a  war, — on  the  termination  of 
which  are  staked  the  present  honor,  and  the  future  welfare 
of  America. 

"  While  thus  engaged  in  an  arduous  and  interesting 
struggle  with  the  open  enemies  of  our  land  from  without, 
the  formation  of  your  government  requires  that  you  should 
exercise  the  elective  franchise, — a  right  which  in  every 
other  country  has  been  destroyed  by  the  ruthless  hand  of 
power,  or  blasted  by  the  unhallowed  touch  of  corruption  ; 
but  which,  by  the  blessings  of  a  munificent  Providence, 
has  as  yet  been  preserved  to  you  in  its  purity. 

"  The  selection  of  your  most  important  functionaries  is 
at  hand.  In  a  government  like  ours,  where  all  power  and 
sovereignty  rests  with  the  people,  the  exercise  of  this  right 
and  the  consequent  expression  of  public  interest  and  pub 
lic  feeling,  is  on  ordinary  occasions,  a  matter  of  deep 
concern,  but  at  a  period  like  the  present,  of  vital  impor 
tance  ; — to  satisfy  you  of  that  importance,  and  to  advise 
you  in  its  exercise,  is  the  object  of  this  address. 

"  Fellow  Citizens — Your  country  is  at  war,  and  Great 
Britain  is  her  enemy.  Indulge  us  in  a  brief  examination 
of  the  causes  which  have  lead  to  it ;  and  brief  as  from  the 


94  THE  LIFE  OF 

necessary  limits  of  an  address  it  must  be. — we  yet  hope  it 
will  be  found  sufficient  to  convince  every  honest  man,  of 

THE  HIGH  JUSTICE  AND  INDISPENSABLE  NECESSITY  OF  THE 
ATTITUDE,  WHICH  OUR  GOVERNMENT  HAS  TAKEN  J  OF  THE 
SACRED  DUTY  OF  EVERY  REAL  AMERICAN  TO  SUPPORT  IT 
IN  THAT  ATTITUDE,  AND  OF  THE  PAHRICIDAL  VIEWS  OF 
THOSE  WHO  REFUSE  TO  DO  SO." 

The  address  then  gives  a  rapid  and  eloquent 
summary  of  the  causes  of  the  war,  and  alludes  to 
the  re-enactment,  by  the  British  government,  of 
the  orders  in  council ;  after  which  it  proceeds  : — 

"  The  American  people — a  people  rich  in  resources, 
possessed  of  a  high  sense  of  national  honor,  the  only  free 
people  on  earth — had  resolved  in  the  face  of  an  observing 
world,  that  those  orders  were  a  direct  attack  upon  their 
sovereignty  ;  that  a  submission  to  them  involved  a  sur 
render  of  their  independence — and  a  solemn  determina 
tion  to  adhere  to  them,  was  officially  declared  by  the  ru 
ler  of  the  British  nation.  Thus  situated,  what  was  your 
government  to  do?  Was  there  room  for  doubt  or  hesita 
tion  as  to  the  hostile  views  of  England?  No.  Lest  such 
doubts  might  prevent  a  rupture,  to  acts  of  violent  injustice 
were  continually  added  acts  of  the  most  opprobrious  in 
sult.  While  the  formal  relations  of  amity  remained  yet 
unbroken — while  peace  was  yet  supposed  to  exist — in 
cool  blood  an  unprovoked  attack  is  made  upon  one  of  your 
national  ships,  and  several  American  citizens  basely  and 
cowardly  murdered.  At  the  moment  your  feelings  were 
at  the  highest  pitch  of  irritation  in  consequence  of  the  per 
fidious  disavowal  of  Erskine's  agreement,  a  minister  is 
sent,  not  to  minister  to  your  rights — not  to  extenuate  the 
conduct  of  his  predecessor — but  to  beard  your  Executive 
— to  add  insult  to  injury  ;  and  to  fling  contumely  and 
reproach  in  the  face  of  the  Executive  of  the  American 
nation,  in  the  presence  of  the  American  people. 

"  To  cap  the  climax  of  her  iniquity  ;  to  fill  up  the  meas 
ure  of  our  wrongs ;  she  resolved  to  persist  in  another 
measure,  surpassed  by  none  in  flagrant  enormity — a  meas 
ure  which  of  itself  was  adequate  cause  of  Avar — a  meas 
ure  which  had  excited  the  liveliest  solicitude,  and  recei 
ved  the  unremitting  attention  of  every  administration  of  our 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  95 

government,  from  the  time  of  Washington  to  the  present 
day ;  the  wicked,  the  odious  and  detestable  practice  of 
impressing  American  seamen  into  her  service;  of  en 
tombing  our  sons  within  the  walls  of  her  ships  of  war; 
compelling  them  to  waste  their  lives,  and  spill  their  blood 
in  the  service  cf  a  foreign  government — a  practice  which 
subjected  every  American  tar,  to  the  violence  and  petty 
tyranny  of  a  British  midshipman,  and  many  of  them  to  a 
life  of  the  most  galling  servitude— a  practice  which  nev 
er  can  be  snbmitted  to  by  a  nation  professing  claims  to 
freedom ;  which  can  never  be  acquiesced  in  by  govern 
ment  without  rescinding  the  great  article  of  our  safety, 
the  reciprocity  of  obedience  and  protection  between  the 
rulers  and  the  ruled. 

"  Under  such  accumulated  circumstances  of  insult  and 
of  injury,  we  ask  again,  what  was  your  government  to  do? 
We  put  the  question  not  '  to  that  faction  which  misrep 
resents  the  government  to  the  people,  and  the  people  to 
the  government ;  traduces  one  half  the  nation  to  cajole 
the  other — and  by  keeping  up  distrust  and  division,  wishes 
to  become  the  proud  arbiter  of  the  fortune  and  fate  of 
America,' — not  to  them,  but  to  every  sound  head  and  hon 
est  heart  in  the  nation  it  is  that  wre  put  the  question, — * 
what  was  your  government  to  do  ?  Was  she  basely  and 
ingloriously  to  abandon  the  rights  for  which  you  and  your 
fathers  fought  and  bled  ?  Was  she  so  early  to  cower  to 
the  nation  which  has  sought  to  strangle  us  in  our  infancy, 
and  which  has  never  ceased  to  retard  our  approach  to 
manhood?  No:  we  will  not  for  a  moment  doubt,  that 
every  man  who  is  in  truth  and  fact  an  American  will  say 
that  WAR,  AND  WAR  ALONE,  was  our  only  refuge 
from  national  degradation, — our  only  courseto  national 
prosperity. 

"  Fellow  Citizens — throughout  the  wrhole  period  of  the 
political  struggles,  which  if  they  have  not  absolutely  dis 
graced,  have  certainly  not  exalted  our  character,  no  re 
mark  was  more  common — no  expectation  more  cheerfully 
indulged  in — than  that  those  severe  and  malevolent 
contentions  would  only  be  sustained  in  time  of  peace ; 
that  when  the  country  should  be  involved  in  war,  every 
wish,  and  every  sentiment  would  be  exclusively  Ameri 
can.  But  unfortunately  for  our  country,  those  reasonable 
expectations  have  not  been  realized,  notwithstanding  every 
one  knows,  that  the  power  of  declaring  war,  and  the  duty 
of  supporting  it,  belong  to  the  General  Government ;  not 
withstanding  that  the  constitutional  remedy  for  the  remo- 


96  THE  LIFE  OF 

val  of  the  men  to  whom  this  power  is  thus  delegated,  has 
recently  been  afforded  ;  notwithstanding  the  re-election 
of  the  same  President  by  \vhom  this  war  was  commen 
ced,  and  a  majority  of  representatives,  whose  estimate  of 
our  rights,  and  whose  views  are  similar  to  those  who  first 
declared  it;  men,  who  by  the  provisions  of  the  constitution, 
must  retain  their  respective  stations  for  a  period  of  such 
duration,  as  precludes  a  continued  opposition  of  their 
measures  without  a  complete  destruction  of  our  national 
interest — an  opposition  at  once  unceasing  and  malignant, 
is  still  continued,  to  every  measure  of  the  administration. 

"  Fellow  Citizens,  these  things  will  not  do.  They  are 
intrinsically  wrong;  your  country  has  engaged  in  a  war 
intlie.  last  degree  unavoidable;  it  is  not  waged  to  the 
destruction  of  the  rights  of  others;  but  in  defence  of  our 
own ;  it  is,  therefore,  your  bounden  duty  to  support  her. 
You  should  lay  down  the  character  of  partizans,  and  be 
come  patriots  ;  for,  in  every  country,  'war  becomes  an 
occasional  duty,  though  it  ought  never  to  be  made  an  oc 
cupation.  Every  man  should  become  a  soldier  in  defence 
of  his  rights  ;  no  man  ought  to  continue  a  soldier  for  of 
fending  the  rights  of  others.'  In  despite  of  truth  so  self- 
evident,  of  incentives  to  a  vigorous  support  of  government 
so  pressing,  we  yet  have  to  deplore  the  existence  of  a  fac 
tion  in  the  bosom  of  our  land, whose  perseverance  and  in 
dustry  are  exceeded  only  by  their  inveteracy  ;  who  seek 
through  every  avenue  to  mislead  your  judgment  and  to 
inflame  your  passions. 

"  When  your  government  pursues  a  pacific  policy,  it  be 
comes  the  object  of  their  scorn  and  derision  ;  the  want  of 
energy  in  your  rulers  is  decried,  as  a  matter  of  alarming 
consideration  ;  the  injuries  of  your  country  are  admitted, 
and  the  fact  is  triumphantly  alleged  that  'the  adminis 
tration  cannot  be  kicked  into  a  war.'  When  they  are  im 
pelled  to  a  forcible  vindication  of  our  rights,  the  cry  of 
enmity  to  peace,  of  a  wish  to  war  with  England  to  serve 
France,  is  immediately  resounded  through  the  land. 
When  war  is  declared,  public  opinion  is  sought  to  be  pre 
judiced  against  the  measure,  as  evincing  a  disposition  un 
necessarily  to  shed  your  blood,  and  waste  your  treasures. 
When  it  is  discovered,  that  that  declaration  is  accompa 
nied  with  a  proposition,  a  just  and  equitable  proposition, 
to  the  enemy,  on  which  hostilities  may  cease  and  peace 
be  restored,  that  proposition  is  derided  as  evidence  of  the 
most  disgraceful  pusillanimity.  No  falsehood  is  consid 
ered  too  glaring,  no  misrepresentation  too  flagitious,  to 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  97 

impose  oo  your  credulity,  and  seduce  your  affections  from 
your  native  land. 

"  Lest  general  allegartons  might  fail  to  effect  their  un 
holy  purposes,  and  consummate  their  dark  designs,  specific 
charges  are  resorted  to — calumnies  which  have  again  and 
again  met  the  detestation  of  an  enlightened  public,  are 
periodically  brought  forward,  new  dressed,  and  with  new 
authorities  to  give  them  credence  with  you.  Among  the 
most  prominent  of  those  charges,  is  that  of  enmity  to 
commerce,  on  the  part  of  the  republican  administrations. 
Never  was  there  a  calumny  more  wicked.  Enmity  to 
commerce !  We  ask,  and  we  ask  emphatically,  where  is 
the  evidence  of  it  ?  What  is  the  basis  on  which  they  rest 
their  claim  to  public  confidence?  It  is  that  the  adminis 
tration  is  engaged  in  a  war  which  they  claim  to  be  un 
popular.  What  are  the  causes  for  which  this  war  is  wa 
ged,  and  which  have  hitherto  embroiled  us  with  the  na 
tions  of  Europe?  They  are  the  violation  of  our  com 
mercial  rights,  and  the  impressment  of  our  seamen  ! 
The  administration  then,  are  jeopardising  their  interest 
with  the  people  ;  they  furnish  weapons  of  offence  to  their 
adversaries  ;  they  brave  all  dangers,  for  the  maintenance 
and  support  of  our  commercial  rights;  and  yet  they  are 
the  enemies  of  commerce  !  Can  such  base  sophistry,  such 
contemptible  nonsense,  impose  on  the  credulity,  or  per 
vert  the  understanding  of  a  single  honest  man? 

"  Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  deceived  by  the  pretence, 
that  because  Great  Britain  has  been  forced  by  her  sub 
jects  to  make  a  qualified  repeal  of  her  orders,  our  govern 
ment  ought  to  abandon  her  ground.  That  ground  was 
taken  to  resist  two  great  and  crying  grievances,  the  de 
struction  of  our  commerce,  and  THE  IMPRESSMENT  OF  OUK 
SEAMEN.  The  latter  is  the  most  important,  in  proportion 
as  we  prefer  the  liberty  and  lives  of  our  citizens  to  their 
property.  Distrust,  therefore,  the  man  who  could  advise 
your  government  at  any  time,  and  more  especially,  at  this 
time, — when  your  brave  sailors  are  exciting  the  admira 
tion,  and  forcing  the  respect  of  an  astonished  world,  when 
their  deeds  of  heroic  valor  make  old  Ocean  smile  at  the 
humiliation  of  her  ancient  tyrant — at  such  a  time,  we  say 
again,  mark  the  man  who  would  countenance  government 
in  COMMUTING  OUR  SAILORS'  RIGHTS  FOR 
THE  SAFETY  OF  OUR  MERCHANTS'  GOODS. 

"Next  to  the  cry  for  peace,  the  most  potent  spell  which 
has  been  resorted  to,  to  alarm  your  fears  and  pervert  your 
understandings — is  the  alleged  distresses  of  the  country, 
9 


98  THE  LIFE  OF 

Fellow  citizens,  it  has  been  our  object,  it  is  our  wish  to 
treat  you  fairly,  to  appeal  to  your  judgments,  not  to  your 
passions  ;  and  as  we  hope  our  address  to  you  hitherto  has 
been  marked  by  that  character — it  is  to  your  consciencies 
then  that  we  appeal  upon  this  subject.  Is  not  this  clamor 
most  unfounded,  most  ungrateful?  If  you  doubt  that 
it  is  so,  if  you  hesitate  to  believe  that  it  originates  exclu 
sively  with  the  ambitious  and  designing — spend  one  mo 
ment  in  comparing  your  situation  with  that  of  the  major 
part  of  the  civilized  world. 

"  Fellow  citizens — should  those  political  witlings,  who 
are  not  only  ignorant  themselves  of  the  leading  points  of 
controversy  in  our  disputes  with  the  belligerents,  but  who 
are  uniformly  assailing  you  as  men  destitute  at  once  of 
spirit  and  of  judgment— should  they  point  to  the  wars 
which  agitate  and  have  convulsed  Europe,  as  arguments 
against  the  prosecution  of  that  just  and  necessary  one 
which  has  been  forced  upon  us,  we  know  that  you  will 
indignantly  repel  the  unfounded  suggestion.  The  wars 
of  Europe  are  waged  by  monarchs,  to  gratify  their  indi 
vidual  malice,  their  individual  caprice,  and  to  satiate 
their  lawless  ambition.  Ours  is  in  defence  of^rio-'hts 
which  must  be  defended,  or  our  glory  as  a  nation  will  be 

extinguished — the  sun  of  our  greatness  will  set  forever 

As  well  might  it  have  been  said  during  the  revolution 
that  war  should  not  be  waged,  because  wars  had  desolat 
ed  Europe.  The  same  rights  you  then  fought  to  obtain 
you  must  now  fight  to  preserve— the  contest  is  the  same 
now  as  it  ic  as  then— and  the  feelings  which  then  agita 
ted  the  public  mind,  which  on  the  one  hand  supported 
and  on  the  other  sought  to  destroy,  the  liberties  of  the 
country,  will  be  seen  and  felt  in  the  conduct  of  the  men 
of  this  day. 

"  Fellow  citizens— we  are  compelled  to  close  this  ap 
peal  to  you.  The  limits  of  an  address  will  not  permit  us 
to  do  justice  to  the  various  subjects  which  should  occupy 
your  attention.  We  are  aware  that  this  has  been  already 
unreasonably  extended  ;  but  the  period  has  arrived  when 
mere  words  andjdle  declarations  must  be  unavailing— 
We  have,  therefore,  felt  it  our  duty  to  give  you,  as  far  as 
practicable,  a  clear  view  of  your  true  situation,  of  your  le 
gitimate  duties.  Unfortunately  for  us,  when  we  outfit  to 
be  an  united,  we  are  a  divided  people.  The  divisions 
which  agitate  us  are  not  as  to  men  only,  but  to  principle 
You  will  be  called  on  at  the  next  election,  to  choose  be 
tween  different  candidates  not  only  for  the  two  ^reat  offi- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  99 

ces  of  state.  Governor  and  Lieutenant  governor,  but  for  ev 
ery  other  elective  office — to  make  a  selection  which  the 
actual  situation  of  your  country  renders  of  infinite  impor 
tance. 

"  We  are  divided  between  the  supporters  and  opposers 
of  our  government.  We  have  witnessed  the  distressing 
truth,  that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  circumstances  to  de 
stroy  the  virulence  of  party  spirit.  The  opposition  offer 
for  your  support,  men,  who]  whatever  their  private  wishes 
may  be,  are  devoted  to  the  support  of  a  party  whose  views 
and  whose  conduct  we  have  attempted  to  delineate.  In 
opposition  to  them,  we  respectfully  solicit  your  support 
for  the  men  whose  nomination  accompanies  this  address^ 
one  of  whom*  has  for  six  years  served  you  in  the  capacity 
in  which  we  now  offer  him  ;  the  otherf  "has  for  many  years 
served  you  in  the  most  responsible  situations.  The  noto 
riety  of  their  merit  supersedes  the  necessity  of  our  eulo- 
gium— their  lives  are  their  best  encomiums;  they  are  the 
true  friends  of  commerce;  their  view^s  are,  and  their  con 
duct  will  be,  in  unison  with  the  measures  of  the  General 
Government ;  they  are  the  sincere  friends  of  an  honorable 
peace,  the  firm  and  energetic  opposers  of  a  base  surrender 
of  our  rights. 

':  We  respectfully  solicit  for  them  your  undivided  sup 
port.  We  solemnly  conjure  every  real  friend  to  his  coun 
try,  to  reflect  on  the  danger  of  abandoning  his  government 
at  a  period  so  perilous  ;  to  reflect  on  the  impropriety  of 
even  indirectly  aiding  the  views  of  our  enemies  by  con 
tinuing  his  opposition  to  government  at  a  period  so  event 
ful. 

"  We  solicit  the  honest  men  of  all  parties — to  remem 
ber  that  ours  is  the  last  republic — that  all  the  influence  of 
the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  has  been  exerted  to  propa 
gate  the  doctrine,  that  a  government  like  ours  can  never 
stand  the  rude  shock  of  war;  toreflect  that  this  is  the  first 
occasion  in  which  this  government  has  been  engaged  in  a 
war,  and  that  the  great  and  interesting  questions,  whether 
man  is  capable  of  self-government,  whether  our  republic 
must  go  the  way  of  its  predecessors,  or  whether,  support 
ed  by  the  hearts  and  arms  of  her  free  citizens,  she  shall 
deride  the  revilings,  and  defeat  the  machinations  of  her 
enemies  are  now  to  be  tried. 

"  Fellow  citizens — In  the  result  of  our  elections  during 
the  continuance  of  this  war,  these  important  considerations 

*Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  tjohn  Taylor. 


100  THE  LIFE  OF 

are  involved, — the  question  of  WHO  is  FOR  nis  COUNTRY 
OR  AGAINST  HIS  COUNTRY,  must  now  be  tried — the  eyes  of 
Europe  are  directed  towards  us — the  efficacy  of  your  mild 
and  wholesome  form  of  government  is  put  to  the  test. 
To  the  polls,  then,  and  by  a  united  and  vigorous  support 
of  the  candidates  we  submit  to  you,  discharge  the  great 
duty  you  owe  to  your  country,  preserve  for  your  posterity 
the  rich  inheritance  which  has  been  left  you  by  your  an 
cestors, — that  future  ages  may  triumphantly  point  to  the 
course  you  pursued  on  this  interesting  occasion,  as  evi 
dence  that  time  had  not  yet  extinguished  that  spirit  which 
actuated  the  heroes  of  Breedhill  and  of  Yorktown  ;  of 
those  who  fell  at  Camden,  and  of  those  who  conquered 
on  the  plains  of  Saratoga." 

The  following  answer  of  the  Senate  to  the  speech 
of  the  Governor  at  the  extra  session  of  the  Legis 
lature  in  1814,  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
During  this  session  he  was  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  of  Ways  and  Means. 

"To  his  Excellency,  D.  D.  Tompkins,  Governor  of  New  York. 

"SiR — The  Senate,  at  the  close  of  their  last  session, 
indulged,  in  common  with  their  fellow  citizens,  the  pleas 
ing  expectation,  that  before  this  period  the  blessings  of 
peace  upon  just  and  honorable  terms  would  have  been  re 
stored  to  their  country.  They  have  thus  far  been  disap 
pointed  ;  and  although  the  mission  to  which  they  looked 
for  its  accomplishment  has  not  yet  terminated,  the  delay 
which  has  taken  place  in  the  commencement  of  negocia- 
tions,  and  the  spirit  of  increased  hostility  manifested  by 
the  enemy  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  combine  to  for 
bid  any  confident  reliance  upon  the  disposition  professed 
by  him  in  the  communication  which  led  to  that  mission. 

"  "  If,  in  the  result,  it  shall  appear,  that  in  these  profes 
sions  he  was  originally  insincere  ;  or  that,  influence  by 
after  circumstances,  he  delayed  the  negociations  proposed 
by  himself,  until  he  should  have  exerted  against  us  the 
additional  means  of  annoyance  which  recent  occurrences 
in  Europe  had  placed  at  his  disposal — the  world  will  not 
hesitate,  in  either  case,  to  pronounce  upon  his  conduct 
the  sentence  of  strong  and  indignant  reprobation. 

"  The  world  have  already  seen,  and  they  cannot  bat 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 


have  seen  with  astonishment,  that  when  ambassadors  for 
peace,  invited  by  himself,  had  already  crossed  the  ocean, 
he  has  given  a  new  and  peculiar  character  to  the  contest, 
a  character  of  violence  and  outrage,  not  only  incompati 
ble  with  the  feelings  of  reconciliation,  but,  in  the  highest 
degree  disgraceful  to  civilized  nations,  and  repugnant  to 
the  established  rules  of  legitimate  warfare. 

"  Whether  this  conduct  has  proceeded  from  ancient  an 
imosities  now  seeking  their  gratification,  in  the  infliction 
of  injuries  upon  those  who  once  defied  and  foiled  his 
power  —  whether  from  a  desire  of  finding  employment  for 
troops  whom  it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  disband  at 
home  —  whether  from  hostility  to  our  civil  institutions, 
and  the  vain  hope  of  subverting  the  fair  fabric  which  by 
the  wisdom,  the  virtue,  and  the  valor  of  our  fathers,  has 
been  reared  and  secured  to  us  —  or  from  a  calculation  that 
by  carrying  his  arms  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  and 
marking  his  course  writh  desolation  and  ruin,  he  could 
make  an  impression  on  the  government  which  should 
avail  him  in  the  proposed  negociations,  or  on  the  people 
which  should  be  remembered  to  his  advantage  in  any 
question  which  should  hereafter  arise  between  the  na 
tions  —  whatever  may  have  been  his  motives,  or  whatever 
his  expectations,  the  Senate  cannot  but  exult  in  common 
with  your  excellency  and  the  country,  that  thus  far  'we 
have  sustained  the  shock  with  firmness  and  gathered  lau 
rels  from  the  strife.' 

"Although  he  has  succeeded  in  penetrating  to  the  cap- 
itol,  his  momentary  triumph,  disgraced  as  it  was  by  the 
destruction  of  public  edifices  and  the  subsequent  plunder 
of  a  defenceless  city,  has  before  this  time  been  embittered 
by  the  reflection,  that  by  the  conflagration  of  those  monu 
ments  of  art  which  public  spirit  and  munificence  had 
erected,  and  which  were  consecrated  by  the  name  of  their 
illustrious  founder,  he  has  kindled  a  flame  of  patriotism 
which  pervades  every  section  of  the  union,  which  has  al 
ready  lit  the  way  to  his  severe  discomfiture,  and  which 
threatens  his  complete  annihilation,  at  every  assailable 
point  of  the  Union  to  which  his  ambition  or  his  resent 
ment  may  lead  him. 

"  The  Senate  have  witnessed  with  the  same  admira 
tion,  evinced  by  your  excellency,  the  brilliant  achieve 
ments  of  our  army  and  navy  during  the  present  campaign 
—  achievments,  which,  in  their  immediate  effects,  have 
been  so  highly  and  extensively  beneficial  to  our  frontier 
citizens  —  achievments  which  have  pierced  the  glcom, 
9* 


102  THE  LIFE  OF 

that  for  a  season  obscured  our  political  horizon  and  dis 
pelled  those  fearful  forebodings  which  past  disasters  had 
excited — exploits  which  will  not  suffer  in  a  comparison 
with  the  most  heroic  efforts  of  the  veterans  of  the  old 
world,  which  have  fully  maintained  if  not  enhanced  the 
proud  and  enviable  fame  of  our  gallant  seamen — exploits 
which  have  covered  the  actors  in  those  bright  scenes  with 
never  fading  laurels,  and  which  will,  until  public  grati 
tude  ceases  to  be  a  public  virtue,  call  for  the  highest  testi 
monials  which  a  free  people  can  yield  to  freemen — un 
ceasing  reverence  for  the  memories  of  those  who  have 
died  on  the  field  of  honor,  and  acts  of  unceasing  grati 
tude  to  their  heroic  survivors. 

"The  Senate  have  seen  with  great  satisfaction,  the 
prompt  and  efficacious  measures  adopted  by  your  excellen 
cy,  to  avert  the  dangers  which  threatened  the  state  ;  and 
believing  as  they  do,  that  whatever  executive  authority 
may  have  been  exercised,  for  which  no  legislative  provis 
ion  existed,  has  not  only  been  intended  for  the  promotion 
of  the  public  good,  but  was  rendered  indispensable  by 
the  pressure  of  existing  circumstances  ;  they  cannot  doubt 
that  the  measures  to  which  your  excellency  has  referred, 
will  be  found  to  deserve  their  approbation  and  support. 

"The  Senate  cannot  forego  the  opportunity  afforded 
them,  of  uniting  with  your  excellency,  in  an  expression 
of  the  high  satisfaction  with  which  they  have  witnessed 
the  unanimity  and  patriotism  displayed  by  all  classes  of 
the  community  in  the  present  crisis,  and  the  disposition 
which  they  have  manifested  to  combine  their  efforts  for 
the  maintenance  of  national  honor  and  common  safety. 

"  That  on  questions  of  general  policy,  or  the  fitness  of 
individuals  for  particular  stations,  we  shall  ever  be  ex 
empted  from  differences  of  opinion,  is  not  to  be  expected. 
Divisions  like  those  are  inseparable  from  the  blessings 
of  our  free  constitution  ;  and  although  sometimes  carried 
to  an  excess  which  all  good  men  must  deplore,  they  are, 
notwithstanding,  generally  productive  of  much  national 
good.  But  to  suppose  that  a  people  jealous  of  their  rights 
and  proud  of  their  national  character,  would  on  a  ques 
tion  of  resisting  the  aggressions  of  an  open  enemy — ag 
gressions  which  have  polluted  our  soil,  and  which  threat 
en  the  subversion  of  those  inestimable  political  institu 
tions  which  have  been  consecrated  to  freedom  by  the 
blood  and  sufferings  of  their  fathers — that  on  a  question 
of  such  vital  interest,  so  well  calculated  to  excite  all  the 
patriotism,  to  arouse  all  the  spirit,  and  to  call  into  action 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  103 

all  the  energies  of  the  nation,  they  would  waste  their 
strength  in  useless  collision  with  each  other — would  be 
a  reflection  upon  their  discernment  and  their  characrer, 
which  they  can  never  merit. 

"  The  various  other  subjects  submitted  by  your  excel 
lency  to  the  Legislature,  will  receive  from  the  Senate 
that  prompt  attention  to  which  their  importance  entitles 
them. 

"  The  important  interest  which  the  state  of  New  York 
has  in  the  successful  termination  of  the  controversy  in 
which  we  are  involved,  and  the  high  destiny  to  which 
her  local  situation,  the  extent  and  variety  of  her  resources, 
and  the  valor  and  patriotism  of  her  citizens,  aided  by  a 
just  and  liberal  policy,  may  advance  her,  have  been  duly 
appreciated  by  your  excellency.  The  Senate  cheerfully 
pledge  their  best  exertions  to  realize  those  great  and  well 
founded  expectations;  and  relying  on  the  patriotism  and 
good  sense  of  the  American  people,  they  confidently  trust 
that  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  nation  will  be  main 
tained,  and  that  at  no  distant  period  the  mild  reign  of 
peace  will  be  restored  to  our  bleeding  country." 

The  sessions  of  the  Legislature  in  New  York  in 
1813  and  1814,  exhibited  scenes  of  the  greatest 
political  violence.  The  federal  party  had  a  ma 
jority  in  the  house  of  Representatives,  but  the  re 
publicans  had  the  control  in  the  Senate.  Among 
the  most  prominent  members  of  the  latter  body 
were  Mr.  Van  Buren,  Nathan  Sanford,  and  Eras- 
tus  Root.  Differing  thus  in  their  views  of  public 
policy  the  two  branches  of  the  Legislature  were 
often  in  conflict  with  each  other.  Many  public 
acts  of  a  patriotic  character,  which  were  passed 
by  the  Senate,  were  rejected  by  the  House.  This 
led  to  frequent  conferences  of  committees  from 
both  bodies.  In  these  conferences  the  measures 
in  dispute  were  publicly  discussed,  and  the  discus 
sion  embraced  the  general  policy  of  the  adminis- 


i04  THE  LIFE  OP 

tration  and  the  expediency  of  the  war.  The  ex 
citing  nature  of  the  questions  thus  debated,  the 
solemnity  of  the  occasion,  the  discussions  being 
conducted  in  the  presence  of  the  two  houses,  and 
the  brilliant  talents  of  the  parties  to  the  controver 
sy,  drew  vast  audiences,  and  presented  a  field  for 
the  display  of  eloquence  unsurpassed,  in  dignity 
and  interest,  by  the  assemblies  of  ancient  Greece. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  always  the  leading  speaker 
on  the  part  of  the  Senate  ^  and  by  the  vigor  of  his 
logic,  his  acuteness  and  dexterity  in  debate,  and 
the  patriotic  spirit  of  his  sentiments,  commanded 
great  applause.  A  speech  which  he  delivered  on 
one  of  those  occasions  was  so  replete  with  elo 
quence  and  patriotic  views,  that  a  committee  ap 
pointed  by  the  republicans  of  Albany,  formally 
presented  him  the  thanks  of  the  party  and  request 
ed  a  copy  for  publication.  This  request  could  not 
be  complied  with  as  the  speech  had  been  delivered 
entirely  without  notes. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  patriotic  services  during  this 
trying  period,  have  been  depicted  with  much  truth 
and  spirit  in  the  letter  of  Col.  Benton,  alluded  to 
in  a  former  extract,  from  which  the  following  pas 
sages  are  taken.  In  refuting  the  allegation  that 
Mr.  Van  Buren  had  rendered  the  republic  little  ser 
vice,  Col.  Benton  says : 


"  Justice  to  him  would  require  an  answer  to  go  further 
back, — to  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  was  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Senate;  when  the  fate  of  Mr.  Madison's  ad- 
mistration,  and  of  the  Union  itself,  depended  upon  the 
conduct  of  that  great  state — great  in  men  and  means,  and 
greater  in  position,  a  frontier  to  New  England,  and  to 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  105 

Canada — to  British  arms  and  Hartford  Convention  trea 
son  ;  and  when  that  conduct,  to  the  dismay  of  every  pa 
triotic  bosom,  was  seen  to  hang,  for  nearly  two  years,  in 
the  doubtful  scales  of  suspense.  The  federalists  had  the 
majority  in  the  house  of  Representatives;  the  democracy 
had  the  Senate  and  the  Governor;  and  for  two  successive 
sessions  no  measure  could  be  adopted  in  support  of  the 
war.  Every  aid  proposed  by  the  Governor  and  Senate, 
was  rejected  by  the  house  of  Representatives.  Every  state 
paper  issued  by  one,  was  answered  by  the  other.  Con 
tinual  disagreements  took  place  ;  innumerable  conferences 
were  had ;  the  hall  of  the  house  of  Representatives  was 
the  scene  of  contestation ;  and  every  conference  was  a 
public  exhibition  of  parliamentary  conflict — a  public  trial 
of  intellectual  digladiation,  in  which  each  side,  represent 
ed  by  committees  of  its  ablest  men,  and  in  the  presence 
of  both  houses,  and  of  assembled  multitudes,  exerted  itself 
to  the  utmost  to  justify  itself,  and  to  put  the  other  in  the 
wrong,  to  operate  upon  public  opinion,  govern  the  impend 
ing  elections,  and  acquire  the  ascendency  in  the  ensuing 
Legislature.  Mr.  Van  Buren,  then  a  young  man,  had 
just  entered  the  Senate  at  the  commencement  of  this  ex 
traordinary  struggle.  He  entered  it,  November  1812  ;  and 
had  just  distinguished  himself  in  the  opposition  of  his 
county  to  the  first  national  bank  charter — in  the  support 
of  Vice  President  Clinton  for  giving  the  casting  vote 
against  it — and  in  his  noble  support  of  Governor  Tomp- 
kins,  for  his  Roman  energy  in  proroguing  the  General  As 
sembly,  (April  1812,)  which  could  not  otherwise  be  pre 
vented  from  receiving  and  embodying  the  transmigratory 
soul  of  that  defunct  institution,  and  giving  it  anew  exist 
ence,  in  a  new  place,  under  an  altered  name  and  modified 
form.  He  was  politically  born  out  of  this  conflict,  and 
came  into  the  Legislature  against  the  bank,  and  for  the 
war.  He  was  the  man  which  the  occasion  required  ;  the 
ready  writer — prompt  debater — judicious  counsellor ;  cour 
teous  in  manners — firm  in  purpose — inflexible  in  princi 
ples.  He  contrived  the  measures — brought  forward  the 
bills  and  reports — delivered  the  speeches — and  drew  the 
state  papers,  (especially  the  powerful  address  to  the  re 
publican  voters  of  the  state,)  which  eventually  vanquish 
ed  the  federal  party,  turned  the  doubtful  scales,  and  gave 
the  elections  of  April,  1814,  to  the  friends  and  supporters 
of  Madison  and  the  war;  an  event,  the  intelligence  of 
which  was  received  at  Washington  with  an  exultation 
only  inferior  to  that  with  which  was  received  the  news-  of 


106  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  victory  of  New  Orleans.  The  new  Legislature,  now 
democratic  in  both  branches,  was  quickly  convened  by 
Governor  Tompkins  ;  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  the  honor 
to  brinof  forward,  and  carry  through,  amidst  the- applauses 
of  patriots,  and  the  denunciation  of  the  anti-war  party, 
the  most  energetic  war  measure  ever  adopted  in  our  Amer 
ica — the  classification  bill,  as  he  called  it,  the  conscription 
bill,  as  they  called  it.  By  this  bill,  the  provisions  of 
which,  by  a  new  and  summary  process,  were  so  contrived 
as  to  act  upon  property,  as  well  as  upon  persons,  an  army 
of  twelve  thousand  state  troops  were  immediately  to  be 
raised  ;  to  serve  for  two  years,  and  to  be  placed  at  the  dis 
position  cf  the  General  Government.  The  peace  which 
was  signed  in  the  last  days  of  December  1814,  rendered 
this  great  measure  of  New  York  inoperative  ;  but  its  merit 
•was  acknowledged  by  all  patriots  at  the  time  ;  the  princi 
ple  of  it  was  adopted  by  Mr.  Madison's  administration; 
recommended  by  the  Secretary  at  War,  Mr.  Monroe,  to 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  found  by  that 
body  too  energetic  to  be  passed.  To  complete  his  course 
in  support  of  the  war,  and  to  crown  his  meritorious  labors 
to  bring  it  to  a  happy  close,  it  became  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
fortune  to  draw  up  the  vote  of  thanks  of  the  greatest  state 
of  the  Union,  to  the  greatest  General  which  the  war  had 
produced — '  the  thanks  of  the  New  York  legislature  to 
Major  General  JACKSON,  his  gallant  officers  and  troops, 
for  their  wonderful,  and  heroic  victory,  in  defence  of  the 
grand  emporium,  of  the  West?  Such  was  the  appropri 
ate  conclusion  to  his  patriotic  services  in  support  of  the 
war:  services,  to  be  sure,  not  rivalling  in  splendor  the  he 
roic  achievments  of  victorious  arms;  but  services,  never 
theless,  both  honorable  and  meritorious  in  their  place ; 
and  without  which  battles  cannot  be  fought,  victories  can 
not  be  won,  nor  countries  be  saved.  Martial  renown,  it 
is  true,  he  did  not  acquire,  nor  attempt;  but  the  want  of 
that  fascination  to  his  name  can  hardly  be  objected  to 
him,  in  these  days,  when  the  political  ascendency  of  mili 
tary  chieftains  is  so  pathetically  deplored,  and  when  the 
entire  perils  of  the  republic  are  supposed  to  be  compress 
ed  into  the  single  danger  of  a  military  despotism." 

The  classification  bill  alluded  to  in  the  foregoing 
extracts  was  the  favorite  measure  of  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren.  A  debate  was  continued  during  two  days,  in 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  107 

the  Senate,  on  the  question  whether  troops  should 
be  raised  by  voluntary  enlistment  or  by  classifica 
tion.  Messrs.  Root  and  Radcliff  were  the  princi 
pal  advocates  of  the  former  method  :  and  Messrs. 
Van  Buren  and  Hubbard  of  the  latter.  On  the 
12th  of  October,  the  principle  of  classification 
was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  eight.  On 
the  14th  of  October,  the  bill  finally  passed,  and 
provided  for  the  raising  of  twelve  thousand  troops 
for  two  years. 

The  principle  of  raising  troops  by  classification 
is  said  to  have  had  its  origin  in  New  England,  dur 
ing  the  war  of  the  revolution.  Its  object  is  to 
equalize  the  burden  of  military  duty  among  all 
classes  of  the  community  according  to  property. 


CHAPTER    VI  I. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  defence  of  the  Classification  bill,  ftf 
appointed  Attorney  General  of  New  York. —  Gives  an 
efficient  support  to  the  project  for  the  Erie  and  Cham" 
plain  Canals. 

AFTER  the  passage  of  the  classification  bill  by 
the  Legislature,  it  met  with  great  opposition  from 
Chancellor  Kent  in  the  Council  of  revision.  On 
the  21st  of  October  he  delivered  an  opinion,  em 
bracing  five  objections  to  the  bill,  which  \vere  forti 
fied  by  his  usual  ingenuity  and  learning.  The  opin 
ion  of  the  Chancellor  was  overruled  by  the  other 
members  of  the  council,  but  his  objections  found 
their  way  into  the  public  prints,  and  coming  from 
so  respectable  a  source,  were  seized  upon  by  polit 
ical  partizans,  as  a  means  of  impairing  public  confi 
dence  in  the  validity  of  the  laws  and  in  the  discre 
tion  of  those  who  enacted  them. 

Col.  Samuel  Young,  who  was  at  that  time  speak 
er  of  the  house  of  Representatives  in  the  New 
10 


HO  THE  LIFE  OF 

York  Legislature,  and  had  been  the  most  promi 
nent  supporter  of  this  measure  in  that  body,  ad 
dressed  a  series  of  letters  to  the  Chancellor  in  the 
public  prints,  in  which  he  defended  the  measures 
of  the  democratic  party,  and  the  classification  bill 
in  particular,  with  signal  eloquence  and  ability. 
The  letters  were  signed  Juris  Consultus.  They 
were  replied  to  by  the  Chancellor  himself,  under 
the  signature  of  Amicus  Curiae.  At  this  point, 
Mr.  Van  Buren  entered  into  the  controversy,  and 
replied  to  the  strictures  of  the  Chancellor  under 
the  signature  of  Amicus  Juris  Consultus.  He  first 
took  a  general  view  of  several  topics  connected 
with  the  controversy,  and,  in  conclusion,  minutely 
reviewed  the  several  objections  raised  by  the  Chan 
cellor  in  the  Council  of  revision,  and  as  Amicus  Cu 
riae.  The  controversy,  involving  questions  of 
constitutional  law  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  as 
well  as  the  most  exciting  political  questions,  at 
tracted  great  attention  and  drew  forth  the  fullest 
display  of  learning  and  ability  on  both  sides.  By 
some  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  friends,  it  was  deemed 
rashness,  on  his  part,  to  enter  the  lists  against  such 
a  veteran  in  politics  and  one  so  profoundly  learned 
in  constitutional  law  as  Chancellor  Kent.  The  re 
sult,  however,  showed  that  they  had  not  sufficient 
ly  appreciated  his  powers.  His  papers  exhibited 
great  ability  and  research,  and  he  so  clearly  demon 
strated  both  the  policy  and  constitutionality  of  the 
act,  and  so  completely  annihilated  the  arguments 
of  his  adversary,  that  the  latter  withdrew  from  the 
contest  by  the  publication  of  a  "  card." 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  m 

The  learning  and  talent  displayed  in  this  contro 
versy,  contributed  greatly  to  his  elevation  to  the 
office  of  Attorney  General  of  the  state,  which  ap 
pointment  he  received  in  February,  1815.  He  was 
at  that  time  thirty-two  years  of  age.  During  the 
same  session,  he  was  also  appointed  by  the  Legis 
lature,  a  regent  of  the  University  of  New  York. 

In  the  spring  of  1816,  he  was  re-elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  state  for  the  further  period  of  four 
years. 

The  project  of  uniting  the  waters  of  the  Hud 
son  with  lake  Erie  and  with  lake  Champlain,  was 
a  leading  subject  of  consideration  in  the  Legisla 
ture  of  New  York,  during  the  winter  of  1816.  For 
six  years  previous,  there  had  been  a  board  of  com 
missioners  to  make  examinations  and  surveys  with 
a  view  to  this  magnificent  enterprize.  During  the 
war,  it  had  been  impossible  for  them  to  prosecute 
the  objects  of  their  appointment ;  but  on  the  8th 
of  March  1816,  they  laid  their  surveys  and  esti 
mates  before  the  "Legislature,  accompanied  by  a 
report,  which  recommended  the  adoption  of  "  such 
preliminary  measures  as  might  be  necessary  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  important  object."  On 
the  21st  of  March,  Mr.  Jacob  R.  Van  Rensselaer, 
from  a  joint  committee,  made  a  report  to  the  house 
of  Representatives,  in  favor  of  the  immediate  com 
mencement  of  both  canals,  and  introduced  a  bill 
for  that  purpose.  On  the  10th  of  April,  Mr.  Duer 
proposed  a  substitute,  merely  authorizing  surveys 
and  estimates ;  but  the  bill,  as  finally  adopted  in 
the  house  on  the  13th  of  April,  authorized  the  im- 


112  THE  LIFE  OK 

mediate  commencement  of  a  portion  of  the  work. 

On  the  16th  of  April,  this  bill  was  taken  up  in  the 
Senate.  But  two  days  of  the  session  remained. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  that  portion  which 
authorized  the  immediate  commencement  of  the 
work  was  stricken  out,  and  the  bill  was  confined 
to  the  procurement  of  more  accurate  surveys  and 
estimates.  In  support  of  his  motion,  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren  said  it  was  evident  to  his  mind,  that  the  Legis 
lature  did  not  possess  sufficient  information  to  jus 
tify  the  immediate  commencement  of  the  work ; 
and  fearing  inconsiderate  legislation  might  pre 
judice  the  measure,  as  a  sincere  friend  to  its  suc 
cess,  he  believed  a  temporary  postponement  to  be 
the  safest  course.  The  amendment  passed  the 
Senate  by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  nine  and  was  final 
ly  adopted  by  the  house. 

On  the  llth  day  of  April,  of  the  next  subsequent 
year,  a  bill  for  the  commencement  of  this  great 
work  finally  passed  the  house  of  Representatives. 
It  wras  immediately  taken  up  for  consideration  in 
the  Senate.  It  was  strongly  opposed  by  some 
gentlemen  of  great  abilities,  whose  constituents 
would  probably  be  affected  in  their  local  interests, 
and  was  sustained  by  Mr.  Tibbets  and  Mr.  Van 
Buren.  The  speech  of  the  latter  is  thus  introduced 
by  the  gentleman  from  whose  report  it  is  here  ex 
tracted.* 


*  Win.  L.  Stone,  Esq.  Editor  of  the  Commercial  Advertiser  in 
New  York,  in  the  Appendix  to  Hosack's  life  of  Clinton,  p.  451. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  113 

"  This  was  Mr.  Van  Buren's  great  speech  of 
the  session,  and  it  was  indeed  a  masterly  effort. 
I  took  notes  of  the  whole  debate  at  the  time,  but 
being  then  young  in  the  business  of  reporting,  and 
this  being  the  first  time  I  had  ever  attempted  to 
follow  Mr.  Van  Buren,  whose  utterance  is  too 
rapid  for  an  unpractised  pen,  and  whose  manner 
was,  on  that  occasion,  too  interesting  to  allow  a 
reporter  to  keep  his  eyes  upon  his  paper,  my  effort 
was  little  more  than  a  failure." 


"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said  he  must  trespass  upon  the  com 
mittee,  while  he  stated  the  general  considerations  which 
induced  him  to  give  his  vote  for  the  bill.  It  was  a  subject 
which  had  been  so  fully  discussed,  and  upon  which  so 
much  had  been  said,  that  he  should  deem  it  arrogance  to 
enlarge.  The  calculations  which  had  been  made  with 
respect  to  the  probable  expense  of  the  canal,  and  ways 
and  means  for  raising  funds  were  fit  subjects  for  consid 
eration.  But  to  do  this  he  deemed  himself  incompetent. 
He  must  place  great  confidence  upon  the  reports  of  the 
commissioners  upon  these  points.  Mr.  V.  B.  here  took  a 
brief  review  of  the  measures  adopted  at  the  last  session 
of  the  Legislature,  in  relation  to  the  canal,  when  a  bill 
similar  to  the  one  now  before  the  Senate,  was  under  con 
sideration,  and  stated  the  reasons  why  he  voted  against 
the  bill  at  that  time.  We  then  had  no  calculations  made 
by  the  commissioners  so  minute  as  at  present.  Under 
these  considerations,  he  conceived  it  his  duty  at  the  last 
session  to  move  the  rejection  of  the  whole  bill  relating  to 
the  commencement  of  the  canal.  It  was  done,  and  he 
had  the  satisfaction  to  find  that  most  gentlemen  have 
since  united  with  him  in  his  opinion.  Now  the  scene  is 
entirely  changed.  We  at  that  time  passed  a  law  appoint 
ing  new  commissioners,  and  applying  20,000  dollars  to 
enable  them  to  obtain  all  the  information  possible.  We 
now  have  the  information,  and  we  have  arrived  at  the 
point,  when,  if  this  bill  do  not  pass,  the  project  must  for 
many  years  be  abandoned.  His  convictions  were,  that  it 
is  for  the  honor  and  interest  of  the  slate  to  commence  the 
work  at  or.ce  ;  \ve  are  pledged  by  former  measures  to  do 
10* 


114  THE  LIFE  OF 

it.  Mr.  Van.  Buren  here  reviewed  the  proceedings  of 
former  Legislatures  upon  the  subejct,  during  the  year  1810, 
11,  12,  and  14,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  the  law 
appropriating  five  millions  for  the  canal,  was  repealed. 
He  proceeded  : — Since  that  period,  new  commissioners 
have  been  appointed,  and  new  authority  given,  to  exam 
ine  the  route  for  the  canal,  and  report  at  the  present  ses 
sion  of  the  Legislature.  A  law  authorising  the  com 
mencement  of  the  \vork  has  passed  the  popular  branch  of 
the  Legislature,  and  unless  we  have  the  clearest  convic 
tions  that  the  project  is  impracticable,  or  the  resources  of 
our  state  insufficient,  you  must  not  recede  from  the  meas 
ures  already  taken.  Are  we  satisfied  upon  these  two 
points?  We  have  had  able,  competent  commissioners  to 
report,  and  they  have  laid  a  full  statement  before  us  ;  we 
are  bound  to  receive  these  reports  as  correct  evidence  up 
on  this  subject.  In  no  part  of  the  business  have  we 
looked  to  individual  states,  or  to  the  United  States  for 
assistance  other  than  accidental  or  auxiliary.  Mr.  Van 
Buren  here  made  some  calculations  relative  to  the  funds. 
Lay  out  of  view,  said  he,  all  the  accidental  resources,  and 
the  revenue  from  the  canal,  and  in  completing  the  work 
you  will  only  entail  upon  the  state  a  debt,  the  interest 
of  which  will  amonnt  to  but  about  300,000  dollars.  He 
then  stated  the  amount  of  real  estate  within  the  state 
now,  and  what  it  probably  would  be,  if  the  canal  were 
completed.  The  tax  would  not  amount  to  more  than  one 
mill  on  the  dollar,  unless  the  report  of  commissioners  is  a 
tissue  of  fraud  or  misrepresentation,  this  tax  will  be  suffi 
cient,  and  more  than  sufficient,  to  complete  the  canal. 
We  are  now  to  say  that  all  our  former  proceedings  have 
been  insincere,  or  we  must  go  on  with  the  work.  The 
people  in  the  districts  where  we  are  first  to  make  the  ca 
nal,  are  willing  and  able  to  be  subjected  to  the  expense  of 
those  sections.  Mr.  Van  Buren  contended  that  the  du 
ties  upon  salt,  and  the  auction  duties,  were  a  certain 
source  of  revenue,  and  that  these  two  sources  of  revenue 
would  be  abundant,  and  more  than  abundant,  forever  to 
discharge  the  interest  of  the  debt  to  be  created.  Ought 
we  under  such  circumstances,  to  reject  this  bill?  No,  sir; 
for  one  I  am  willing  to  go  to  the  length  contemplated  by 
the  bill.  The  canal  is  to  promote  the  interest  and  char 
acter  of  the  state  in  a  thousand  ways.  But  we  are  told 
that  the  people  cannot  bear  the  burden.  Sir,  I  assume  it 
as  a  fact,  that  the  people  have  already  consented  to  it. 
For  six  years  we  have  been  engaged  upon  this  business. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  115 

During  this  time  our  tables  have  groaned  with  the  peti 
tions  of  the  people  from  every  section  of  our  country  in 
favor  of  it.  And  not  a  solitary  voice  has  been  raised 
against  it.  Mr.  V.  B.  said  he  had  seen  with  regret  the 
divisions  that  have  heretofore  existed  upon  this  subject, 
apparently  arising  from  hostility  to  the  commissioners. 
Last  year  the  same  bill,  in  effect,  passed  the  Assembly, 
the  immediate  representatives  of  the  people;  and  this 
year  it  has  passed  again.  This  was  conclurive  evidence 
that  the  people  have  assented  to  it.  Little  can  be  done 
by  the  commissioners,  other  than  to  make  a  loan,  before 
another  session.  The  money  cannot  be  lost — there  can, 
be  no  loss  at  six  per  cent.  We  have  now  all  the  infor 
mation  we  can  wish — we  must  make  up  our  minds  either 
to  be  expending  large  sums  in  legislation  year  after  year, 
or  we  must  go  on  with  the  project.  After  so  much  has 
been  done  and  said  upon  the  subject,  it  would  be  discredi 
table  to  the  state  to  abandon  it. 

"  He  considered  it  the  most  important  vote  he  ever  gave 
in  his  life — but  the  project,  if  executed,  would  raise  the 
state  to  the  highest  possible  pitch  of  fame  and  grandeur. 
He  repeated  that  we  were  bound  to  consider  that  the  peo 
ple  have  given  their  assent.  Twelve  thousand  men  of 
wealth  and  respectability  in  the  city  of  New  York,  last 
year  petitioned  for  the  canal ;  and  at  all  events,  before  the 
operation  would  be  commenced,  the  people,  if  opposed  to 
the  measure,  would  have  ample  time  to  express  their  will 
upon  the  subject.1' 

The  reporter  adds :  "  When  Mr.  Van  Buren 
resumed  his  seat,  Mr.  Clinton  who  had  been  an 
attentive  listener  in  the  Senate  chamber,  breaking 
through  that  reserve  which  political  collisions  had 
created,  approached  him  and  expressed  his  thanks 
for  his  exertions  in  the  most  flattering  terms." 

It  will  be  proper,  here,  to  insert  a  brief  descrip 
tion  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  manner  as  a  speaker,  at 
that  period,  sketched  by  the  same  able  writer  who 
furnished  the  above  report ;  the  author  of  it  will, 
at  least,  be  free  from  the  charge  of  personal  or  po 
litical  partiality. 


116  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  a  very  eloquent  speaker ;  but  the 
character  of  his  eloquence  is  sui  generis.  We  know  of 
none  of  the  mighty  masters  of  the  persuasive  art,  whom 
he  has  adopted  for  his  model ;  and  yet  his  manner  is 
graceful,  and  animated  when  occasion  requires,  or  im 
passioned  when  engaged  upon  an  inspiring  theme.  He 
has  a  happy  command  of  language,  but  his  utterance  is 
too  rapid.  His  figure  is  small,  and  there  is  nothing  pe 
culiar  in  his  person,  excepting  the  fine  formation  of  his 
head,  which  would  afford  an  admirable  subject  for  a  cra- 
niologist.  With  manners  affable  and  insinuating,  he  in 
spires  his  friends  with  the  strongest  attachment  known  to 
political  ties ;  and  though  self-educated,  his  professional 
knowledge  is  such  as  to  have  placed  him  in  the  front  rank 
at  the  bar,  while  his  successful  career  in  politics  bears 
ample  testimony  to  talents  of  an  elevated  order,  and  a 
tact  in  the  management  of  men  and  in  the  control  of  par 
ties,  without  a  living  parallel.''3 

As  the  great  scheme  of  internal  improvements 
in  New  York,  was  thus  indebted,  in  part,  for  its 
first  adoption,  to  his  exertions,  so,  at  every  subse 
quent  period,  it  received  his  efficient  support.  To 
enumerate  the  various  occasions  upon  which  this 
support  was  exhibited  would  swell  this  portion  of 
the  present  narrative  to  an  undue  extent.  It  will 
suffice  to  subjoin  the  following  general  statement 
from  the  pen  of  the  learned  and  amiable  biographer 
of  the  illustrious  Clinton. 

"  To  the  Hon.  Cadwallader  D.  Golden,  Martin  Van 
Buren,  Jacob  Rutsen  Van  Rcnsselaer,  James  Lynch,  Pe 
ter  A.  Jay,  William  Ross,  and  William  A.  Duer,  the 
state  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  their  patriotic  exertions 
in  behalf  of  the  canal."  *  *  "  The  Hon.  Martin  Van 
Buren  and  the  other  gentlemen  just  mentioned,  were  dis 
tinguished  by  their  support  of  the  legislative  measures 
then  adopted.  Those  gentlemen,  then  members  of  the 
Legislature,  independently  of  their  able,  and  in  most  in 
stances,  their  uniform  support  of  the  canal  policy,  sig 
nalized  themselves  by  very  important  services  in  rescuing 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  117 

the  bill  from  a  state  of  jeopardy,  even  when  it  had  been, 
to  a  certain  degree,  abandoned  by  its  friends.  By  their 
personal  and  almost  miraculous  exertions,  it  was  resusci 
tated  and  again  restored  to  the  approbation  of  the  two 
houses  of  the  Legislature."* 

*Hosack's  Memoir  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  pp.  105-7. 


CHAPTER     VIII. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN  acquiesces  in  the  first  election  of  De 
Witt  Clinton,  as  Governor.  Opposes  his  re-election. 
Is  removed  from  the  office  of  Attorney  General. 
Separates  from  Mr.  Clinton  and  his  political  friends. 
His  encomium  upon  Mr.  Clinton's  character  at  a 
meeting  of  the  New  York  Congressional  delegation 
in  Washington. 

IN  March  1817,  De  Witt  Clinton  was  nomina 
ted  to  the  office  of  Governor  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  by  a  republican  convention,  in  the  place  of 
Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  who  had  been  elected  Vice 
President  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Van  Buren 
acquiesced  in  this  nomination,  though  it  was  con 
trary  to  his  individual  wishes  and  opinions.  The 
distinguished  talents  of  Mr.  Clinton  and  his  recent 
zealous  efforts  in  promoting  the  great  interests  of 
the  state,  had  so  far  won  the  respect  and  confi 
dence  of  all  parties,  that  there  was  comparatively 
little  opposition  to  his  election.  During  the  first 


120  THE  LIFE  OF 

year  of  Mr.  Clinton's  administration,  but  little  oc 
curred  to  disturb  this  singular  coalition  of  opposite 
political  parties.  But  in  the  difficult  task  of  ma 
king  his  appointments,  Governor  Clinton  gave  great 
offence  to  the  republicans  who  had  yielded  him 
their  support.  This  difficulty  widened  into  an 
open  rupture  ;  and  a  large  majority  of  the  repub 
lican  party,  Mr.  Van  Buren  among  their  number, 
withdrew  their  support  from  Mr.  Clinton's  public 
measures  and  made  preparation  to  oppose  his  re 
election.  The  participation  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in 
this  opposition,  brought  upon  him  the  political  ven 
geance  of  the  council  of  appointment,  who  were 
devoted  to  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Clinton.  Accord 
ingly,  in  July  1819,  he  was  removed  from  the  office 
of  Attorney  General ;  the  duties  of  which  he  had 
discharged,  with  ability,  for  more  than  five  years. 
No  other  reason  was  assigned  for  this  measure 
than  the  opposition  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Gov 
ernor. 

This  violent  act  united  the  great  mass  of  the 
republican  party  in  opposition  to  Governor  Clin 
ton  and  bound  them  more  strongly  than  ever  to 
Mr.  Van  Buren.  His  long  course  of  public  ser 
vices  were  remembered,  especially  his  zealous 
support  of  the  democratic  cause  during  the  gloomy 
period  of  the  war,  and  his  honorable  co-operation, 
at  a  more  recent  period,  with  Mr.  Clinton  himself, 
in  the  great  work  of  internal  navigation.  Accord 
ingly,  when  the  period  of  Mr.  Clinton's  public  ser 
vice  drew  towards  a  close,  the  most  strenuous  ex 
ertions  were  made  by  the  republicans  throughout 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  121 

the  state,  to  prevent  his  re-election.  Mr.  Van 
Buren  naturally  took  the  lead  in  these  efforts  ;  an<f 
Daniel  D.  Tornpkins,  emphatically  the  man  of  the 
people,  was  prevailed  upon  to  become  the  oppos 
ing  candidate.  Although  Mr.  Clinton's  policy  had 
already  assumed  the  strongest  anti-democratic 
character,  yet  the  splendor  of  his  abilities,  his  for 
mer  public  services,  and  his  great  personal  weight 
of  character  drew  temporarily  to  his  support,  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  the  former  democratic 
party.  The  contest  was  close  and  animated,  and 
the  result,  for  several  days,  was  extremely  doubt 
ful,  Mr,  Clinton  finally  succeeded  by  a  majority 
of  1457,  out  of  93,437  votes.  This  result  suffi 
ciently  indicated  the  great  change  in  public  opin 
ion,  produced  by  the  unexpected  turn  which  he 
gave  to  his  administration.  The  whole  number  of 
votes  against  him,  on  his  former  election,  was  but 
twenty-two  more  than  his  present  majority. 

Both  houses  of  the  Legislature  and  the  Council 
of  appointments,  however,  were  decidedly  demo 
cratic  ;  and  it  was  hence  apparent  that  the  rule 
had  passed  out  of  federal  hands. 

A  restoration  to  the  office  of  Attorney  General 
was  now  tendered  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  but  was  de 
clined  by  him. 

The  writer  is  persuaded  that  he  shall  but  speak 
the  sentiments  of  Mr,  Van  Buren  and  all  his  polit 
ical  friends,  in  bearing  testimony,  in  this  place,  to 
the  learning,  splendid  talents  and  great  public  ser 
vices  of  De  Witt  Clinton.  On  many  public  oc 
casions,  he  gave  expression  to  political  sentiments 
11 


122  THE  LIFE  OF 

which  indicated,  in  the  words  of  his  biographer. 
"  a  living  faith  in  manrs  capacity  for  self-govern 
ment  and  an  unconquerable  hostility  to  arbitrary 
and  illegal  power,  in  whatever  shape  it  might  ap 
pear.'*  The  promulgation  of  these  sentiments 
brought  upon  him  the  hostility  of  the  federalists, 
and  won  for  him  the  high  respect  of  the  democrat 
ic  party,  who  were  disposed  to  transfer  to  him,  the 
reverence,  confidence  and  affection  they  had  al 
ways  entertained  for  his  illustrious  uncle,  George 
Clinton.  But  "  these  political  principles"  as  the 
biographer,  before  quoted,  aptly  remarks,  "  though 
recognized  by  the  great  body  of  our  fellow  citi 
zens,  are  apt  to  be  forgotten  by  our  public  men 
when  elevated  to  office."  Mr.  Clinton's  public 
course  does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  steacily  reg 
ulated  by  them,  as  to  have  retained  the  confidence, 
the  democracy  were  disposed  to  place  in  him.* 

By  the  current  of  events  wrhich  we  have  thus 
briefly  related,  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Clinton 
\vere  arrayed  against  each  other  as  the  distinguish 
ed  and  able  leaders  of  opposite  political  parties. 
A  most  violent  contest  ensued,  and  was  sustained 
for  years  with  unabated  energy  on  both  sides.  To 
enter  minutely  into  the  histoiy  of  these  conflicts 
would  be  an  ungrateful  task,  and  would  extend 
this  portion  of  the  present  history  beyond  its  prop 
er  bounds.  It  will  suffice  to  say,  that  during  these 

*  The  Roman  historian's  remark,  with  respect  to  the  Emperor 
Galba,  may  be  applied  to  Mr.  Clinton :  "  major  private  visus, 
dum  privatns  fuit  et  omnium  consonsu  cnpax  Imperil,  nisi  irnpe- 
r asset. '  Tacit.  TfJxf.  fib.  J.  cnp.  49. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 


conflicts,  Governor  Clinton  was  twice  driven  into 
retirement  and  two  of  his  distinguished  supporters, 
Chief  Justice  Spencer  and  Judge  Van  Ness,  both 
compelled  to  retire  from  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
was  twice  removed  from  office,  and  was  pursued 
for  many  years,  with  the  most  unrelenting  party 
violence.  It  is  a  point  of  bright  relief  in  this  dark 
picture,  that  amid  all  the  collisions  of  party  vio 
lence,  the  two  great  antagonists,  retained  their  con 
fidence  in  the  personal  integrity  of  each  other,  and 
each  expressed  his  respect  for  the  private  upright 
ness  and  honesty  of  his  rival.  Such,  at  least,  are 
said,  on  the  best  authority,  to  have  been  the  senti 
ments  of  Governor  Clinton,  almost  in  the  last  mo 
ments  of  his  life  ;  and  the  following  affecting  and 
eloquent  testimony  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  pub 
lic  services  and  private  worth  of  his  illustrious 
competitor,  is  publicly  on  record.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress, 
from  the  state  of  New  York,  held  at  Washington, 
on  the  19th  of  February  1828,  to  express  their 
feelings  on  the  sudden  demise  of  Governor  Clin 
ton,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  then  a  member  of  the  Sen 
ate,  introduced  some  appropriate  resolutions  with 
the  following  remarks, 


<{  MR.  CHAIRMAN — We  have  met  to  pay  a  tribute  of  re 
spect  to  the  memory  of  our  late  Governor  and  distinguish 
ed  fellow-citizen,  De  Witt  Clinton.  Some  of  our  breth 
ren  have  been  so  kind  as  to  ask  me  to  prepare  a  suitable 
expression  of  our  feelings  ;  and  I  have,  in  pursuance  of 
their  wishes,  drawn  up  what  has  occurred  to  me  as  proper 
to  be  said  on  the  occasion.  Before  I  submit  it  to  the  con- 


124  THE  LIFE  OF 

sidcration  of  the  meeting,  I  beg  to  be  indulged  in  a  few- 
brief  remarks.  I  can  say  nothing  of  the  deceased,  that  is 
not  familiar  to  you  all.  To  all,  he  was  personally  known, 
and  to  many  of  us,  intimately  and  familiarly,  from  our 
earliest  infancy.  The  high  order  of  his  talents,  the  un 
tiring  zeal  and  great  success  with  which  those  talents 
have,  through  a  series  of  years  been  devoted  to  the  prose 
cution  of  plans  of  great  public  utility,  are  also  known  to 
you  all,  and  by  all,  I  am  satisfied,  duly  appreciated.  The 
subject  can  derive  no  additional  interest  or  importance 
from  any  eulogy  of  mine.  All  other  considerations  out  of 
view,  the  single  fact  that  the  greatest  public  improvement 
of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  was  commenced  under  the 
guidance  of  his  councils,  and  splendidly  accomplished 
under  his  immediate  auspices,  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  fill 
the  ambition  of  any  man,  and  to  give  glory  to  any  name. 
But,  as  has  been  justly  said,  his  life,  and  character,  and 
conduct,  have  become  the  property  of  the  historian :  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  history  will  do  him  jus- 
lice.  The  triumph  of  his  talents  and  patriotism,  cannot 
fail  to  become  monuments  of  high  and  enduring  fame. 
We  cannot,  indeed,  but  remember,  that  in  our  public  ca 
reer,  collisions  of  opinion  and  action,  at  once  extensive, 
earnest,  and  enduring,  have  arisen  between  the  deceased 
and  many  of  us.  For  myself,  sir,  it  gives  me  a  deep-felt, 
though  melancholy  satisfaction,  to  know,  and  more  so,  to 
be  conscious,  that  the  deceased  also  felt  and  acknowledg 
ed,  that  our  political  differences  have  been  wholly  free 
from  that  most  venomous  and  corroding  of  all  poisons, 
personal  hatred. 

"  But  in  other  respects  it  is  now  immaterial  what  was 
the  character  of  those  collisions.— They  have  been  turned 
to  nothing,  and  less  than  nothing,  by  the  event  we  de 
plore,  and  I  doubt  not  that  we  will,  with  one  voice  and 
one  heart,  yield  to  his  memory  the  well  deserved  tribute 
of  our  respect  for  his  name,  and  our  warmest  gratitude 
for  his  great  and  signal  services.  For  myself,  sir,  so 
strong,  so  sincere,  and  so  engrossing  is  that  feeling,  that 
I,  who  whilst  living,  never,  no  never,  envied  him  any 
thing,  now  that  he  has  fallen,  am  greatly  tempted  to  envy 
him  his  grave  with  its  honors. 

"  Of  this,  the  most  afflicting  of  all  bereavements,  that 
has  fallen  on  his  wretched  and  desponding  family,  what 
shall  I  say  ?— Nothing.— Their  grief  is  too  sacred  for  de 
scription;  justice  can  alone  be  done  to  it  by  those  deep 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  125 

and  silent,  but  agonizing  feelings,  which  on  their  account 
pervade  every  hosom." 

The  resolutions,  thus  introduced,  expressed,  on 
behalf  of  the  meeting, "  their  deep  and  sincere  sor 
row  for  a  dispensation  of  Providence  which  had, 
in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  cut  off  from  the  ser 
vice  of  that  state,  whose  proudest  ornament  he 
was, — a  great  man,  who  had  won  and  richly  de 
served  the  reputation  of  a  distinguished  benefac 
tor." 

The  noble  generosity  of  these  sentiments  con 
sidering  the  source  from  whence  they  proceeded, 
will  be  appreciated  by  the  reader. 


11* 


CHAPTER    IX. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  support  of  Rufus  King  for  Senator 
of  the  United  States.  His  connection  with  the  proceed 
ings  in  Albany,  and  in  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
in  regard  to  the  Missouri  question. 

IT  may  be  proper  to  advert,  in  this  place,  to  two 
or  three  particulars  in  the  public  life  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  which  have  been  the  subject  of  considera 
ble  remark.  The  first  of  these  is  his  support  of 
Rufus  King  for  the  office  of  Senator  of  the  United 
States. 

In  the  winter  of  1819,  the  Legislature  of  New 
York  was  divided  into  three  distinct  parties.  As 
has  already  been  remarked,  a  large  portion  of  the 
democratic  party  had  become  dissatisfied  with  the 
public  measures  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  then  Govern 
or,  and  had  seceded  from  the  support  of  his  ad 
ministration.  These  seceders,  with  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren  at  their  head,  formed  one  party  in  the  Legis 
lature.  A  respectable  portion  of  the  old  federal- 


128  THE  LIFE  OF 

ists  had  also  separated  from  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Clinton,  and  constituted  a  second  faction  in  the 
Legislature.  The  friends  of  Clinton,  embracing 
both  republicans  and  federalists,  constituted  the 
third  division. 

On  the  2d  of  February  1819,  the  strength  of 
these  respective  parties  was  developed  in  ballot 
ing  for  a  Senator  of  the  United  States.  John  C. 
Spencer,  a  near  relative  of  Mr.  Clinton  and  sup 
ported  by  his  interest,  had  sixty-one  votes.  Sam 
uel  Young,  the  candidate  of  the  republican  party 
friendly  to  the  national  administration,  received 
fifty-six  votes  ;  and  Rufus  King,  the  federal  candi 
date,  who  was  at  that  time  the  actual  incumbent 
of  the  office,  received  thirty-eight  votes.  At  sever 
al  successive  ballotings,  each  party  adhered  to  its 
own  candidate,  and  as  neither  had  a  majority  of 
the  whole  votes,  no  election  was  made  during  that 
session. 

The  great  personal  worth  of  Mr.  King,  his  patri 
otic  services  as  a  member  of  the  Convention  which 
framed  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  subsequent 
ly  as  Minister  to  England  from  the  last  year  of 
General  Washington's  administration  to  the  third 
year  of  Mr.  Jefferson's,  and  finally,  his  zealous  and 
honorable  support  of  Governor  Tompkins  and  of 
the  national  administration,  during  the  most  gloomy 
period  of  the  war,  had  won  for  him  the  high  re 
spect  and  confidence  of  the  democratic  party. 
After  the  unsuccessful  attempt  to  elect  a  Senator, 
in  1819,  Col.  Young  declined  being  any  longer  a 
candidate.  The  attention  of  his  political  friends 


MARTIN  VAX  BUREX.  129 

was  then  directed  to  Mr.  King,  whom  they  were 
strongly  disposed  to  support,  provided  it  could  be 
done  without  suspicion  of  an  improper  coalition 
with  his  federal  friends,  and  without  hazarding  the 
prospect  of  a  democratic  ascendency  in  the  Le 
gislature. 

In  December  1819,  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Con 
siderations  in  favor  of  the  appointment  of  Rufus 
King,  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,"  was  ad 
dressed  to  the  republican  members  of  the  Legisla 
ture  of  New  York,  by  "  one  of  their  colleagues." 
It  was  understood  to  be  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren ;  and  as  it  contains,  not  merely  an  exposi 
tion  of  the  reasons  for  his  support  of  Mr.  King* 
but  also  discriminating  views  of  the  federal  party* 
and  a  distinct  expression  of  the  great  rule  of  ac 
tion  which  has  guided  his  political  life,  to  wit,  a 
scrupulous  observance  of  the  will  of  his  constitu 
ents, — the  following  passages  are  extracted  from  it. 

"  To  the  Republican  members,  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
Slate  of  New  Yorh\ 

"  A  fellow  member,  who  knows,  and  is  personally 
known  to  most  of  you,  who  has,  from  his  infancy,  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  the  honor  and  prosperity  of  the  party  to 
which  you  belong,  and  who,  if  he  has  ever  erred  in  his  labor 
to  promote  its  best  interests,  has  erred  from  defect  of  judg 
ment  and  not  from  a  want  of  devotion  to  the  cause,  ven 
tures  to  address  you  on  the  subject  of  the  choice  of  Sena 
tor  to  represent  this  state  in  the  Legislature  of  the  Union. 

"  The  state  of  parties,  the  character  and  standing  of 
the  most  prominent  candidate  for  your  favor,  the  general 
aspect  of  political  affairs,  and  a  variety  of  concurring  cir 
cumstances,  render  the  subject  one  of  conceded  delicacy, 
and  not  entirely  free  from  difficulty. 


130  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  It  is,  notwithstanding,  one  on  which  it  will  be  our 
duty  soon  to  act ;  and  all  experience  demonstrates,  that 
nothing  is  sj  well  calculated  t  j  lead  to  a  judicious  exer 
cise  of  power,  as  a  free,  frank,  and  unrestrained  discus 
sion  of  the  subjects  of  it;  and  nothing,  certainly,  better 
comports  with  the  character,  or  is  more  congenial  to  the 
feelings  of  freemen,  than  that  those  discussions  should  be 
attended  with  all  possible  publicity.  It  is  with  those 
convictions,  and  upon  the  impulse  of  such  feelings,  that 
this  examination  is  undertaken. 

"  When  this  question  was  presented  to  the  Legislature 
at  their  last  session,  the  names  of  several  of  our  friends, 
who  are  rich  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  republicans, 
were  spoken  of,  and  one  was  actually  voted  for  to  fill  the 
existing  vacancy.  It  is  satisfactorily  ascertained  that  all 
ihose  gentlemen,  for  reasons  which  it  is  unnecessary  here 
to  state,  but  which  are  of  a  nature  reflecting  upon  them 
the  highest  honor,  which  evince  an  entire  devotion  to  our 
cause,  and  entitle  them  to  a  continuance  of  our  best  opin 
ion,  are  unwilling  to  be  regarded  as  candidates  for  the 
station,  and  are  desirous  that  our  attention  should  be  di 
rected  to  another  quarter. 

"In  consequence  of  the  general  understanding,  which 
has  obtained  as  to  the  views  of  the  gentlemen  of  whom  I 
have  spoken,  and  from  other  causes,  the  only  name  which 
has,  for  some  time  past,  been  held  up  to  public  view,  and 
occupied  the  public  mind,  as  connected  with  the  subject, 
is  that  of  RUFUS  KING, — in  whose  favor  there  has  been 
apparently,  a  spontaneous,  and  certainly,  a  very  extensive 
expression  of  public  sentiment. 

"Having  learned  from  experience,  to  place  almost  im 
plicit  confidence  in  the  general  justice  and  ultimate  wis 
dom  of  the  predominant  sentiments  of  the  republican 
party,  I  have  felt  it  my  duty  scrupulously  to  observe  the 
indication  of  these  sentiments  on  this  interesting  subject; 
and  I  am  entirely  satisfied  that  1  am  not  mistaken  when  I 
say,  that  the  republicans  of  this  state  think  and  feel  that 
the  support  of  Mr.  King,  at  this  time,  would  be  an  act 
honorable  to  themselves,  advantageous  to  the  country, 
and  just  to  him  ,  and  that  the  only  reluctance  which  they 
have  to  a  public  avowal  of  their  sentiments  in  his  favor, 
arises  from  the  commendable  apprehension  that  their  de 
termination  to  support  him,  under  existing  circumstances 
might  subject  them  to  the  suspicion  of  having  become  a 
party  to  a  political  bargain,  to  one  of  those  sinister  com 
mutations  of  principle  for  power,  which  they  think  com- 


MARTLX   VAX  BUREX.  131 

mou  with  their  adversaries,  and  against  which  they  have 
remonstrated  with  becoming  spirit. 

"I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  my  sentiments  to  be 
in  unison  with  those  which  I  helieve  generally  to  prevail 
among  ihe  republicans  of  the  state;  and  I  cannot  but 
avow  my  conviction  that  this  apprehension,  which  evin 
ces  an  honorable  solicuuda  to  avoid  even  the  imputation 
of  the  errors  of  their  opponents,  is  without  adequate  cause, 
and  can  be  fully  obviated. 

"Although  the  ru!e  may,  possibly,  in  some  instances  be 
carried  too  Car,  it  is  certainly  true,  that  the  conduct  of  pub 
lic  men,  who  were  in  active  life,  or  in  a  situation  to  be 
so,  during  the  last  war,  has  been,  and  will,  unavoidably, 
long  continue  to  be  the  test  of  their  claims  to  public  con 
fidence  and  support. 

"The  federalists  of  that  day  may  justly,  and,  by  the 
historian  of  the  time,  will  probably  be  divided  into  three 
classes  ;  the  first  consisting  of  those  who,  influenced  by 
strong  predilection  for  the  enemy,  and  instigated  by  the 
most  envenomed  malignity  against  the  administration  of 
their  own  government,  adopting ''rule  or  ruin,"  for  their 
motto,  exercised  an  industry  and  perseverance  worthy  of 
a  better  cause,  to  paralyze  the  arms  of  their  own  govern 
ment,  and  encourage  the  hopes  of  the  foe. 

"  The  second  class  was  composed  of  a  very  numerous 
and  respectable  portion,  who,  inured  to  opposition,  and 
heated  by  collision,  were  poorly  qualified  to  judge  dis 
passionately  of  the  measures  of  government;  who  deem 
ed  the  declaration  of  war  impolitic  in  the  then  state  of  the 
country,  and  were  not  as  well  satisfied,  as  subsequent  re 
flection  has  rendered  them,  of  its  justice  and  indispensa 
ble  necessity ;  who  were  deceived,  too,  by  appearances, 
and  by  the  bold  and  confident  denunciations  of  their  lea 
ders  of  the  first  class,  into  a  belief  that  their  own  govern 
ment  was  partial  to  France  and  averse  to  peace  with  Bri 
tain,  and  who  from  the  causes  1  have  enumerated,  aided 
by  that  strong  desire  to  supplant  their  political  opponents, 
which  is  common  to  all  parlies,  were  induced  to  make  all 
the  opposition  to  government  which  they  lawfully  could, 
within  the  pale  of  the  constitution. 

"In  the  third  class,  are  included  all  those  who.  enter 
taining  a  correct  sense  of  their  country's  rights,  a  lively 
sensibility  for  her  wrongs,  and  a  suitable  spirit  to  defend 
the  former,  and  redress  the  latter,  rose  superior  to  the  pre 
judices  and  passions  of  those  with  whom  they  once  act- 


132  THE  LIFE  OF 

ed,  and  throwing  down  the  weapons  of  parly   warfare, 
enrolled  themselves  under  the  banners  of  their  country. 

"Those  whom  I  have  first  designated,  displayed  their 
principles,  and  gave  earnest  of  their  designs,  by  assisting 
a't,  or  abetting,  the  ever  memorable  convention  at  Hart 
ford,  and  tho?e  preceding  efforts  of  factious  opposition, 
which  were  connected  with  it.  The  rising  indignation  of 
the  American  people,  however,  retarded  the  execution  of 
their  designs  until  peace  put  an  end  to  their  prosecution. 
Their  labors  led  to  the  same  results  with  those  of  their 
prototypes  of  the  revolution  ;  and  as  their  motives  were 
less  [jure,  and  their  conduct  less  excusable,  they  have 
reaped  a  more  abundant  harvest  of  public  obloquy  and 
disgrace. 

"  Many  of  those  included  in  the  second  class,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  extent  of  their  delusion  at  the  moment, 
and  however  strong  the  infatuation  by  which  they  were 
blinded,  would,  at  all  times,  have  shrunk  from  the  aban 
donment  of  the  acknowledged  interests  of  their  country, 
and  have,  subsequently,  embraced  every  opportunity  to 
testify  their  devotion  to  the  public  interest.  There  is, 
moreover,  good  reason  to  believe,  that  they  will  all,  in 
clue  season,  be  found  to  have  embarked  in  trie  same  cause 
with  the  republicans  of  the  state,  and  of  the  Union.  Nor 
have  we  failed,  and,  I  hope,  we  never  shall  fail,  in  be 
coming  liberality  of  sentiment,  towards  that  portion  of 
our  fellow  citizens,  or  in  exercising  that  respectful  defer 
ence  for  the  freedom  of  opinion,  which  should  ever  char 
acterize  the  conduct  of  men.  who,  actuated  by  pure  mo 
tives  themselves,  are  sensible  of  "the  safety  with  Avhich 
error  of  opinion  may  be  tolerated  when  reason  is  left  free 
lo  combat  it.' 

"  As  to  the  merits  of  that  description  of  federalists,  who 
are  embraced  in  the  third  class,  there  has  not  been,  nor 
can  there  ever  be  a  diversity  of  opinion  among  us.  If 
we  look  back  to  that  period  which,  a  second  time,  '  tried 
men's  souls,'  as  the  proudest  of  our  lives,  they  also  have 
reason  to  exult  in  the  recollection  of  the  parts  they  re 
spectively  acted  in  those  interesting  scenes. 

"It  is  true,  they  have  not  the  merit  of  advising  to  the 
commencement  of  the  war.  a  war  by  which  the  fame,  the 
honor,  the  true  interests  of  our  common  country,  have 
been  so  much  advanced  ;  but  that  circumstances  alone 
ought  not  to  impair  their  claims  to  the  respect  and  confi 
dence  of  their  fellow  citizens. 

•'•'It  was  fully  compensated  by  the  alacrity  with  which 


MARTIN  VAN  BUKEN.  133 

they  lent  their  aid  to  an  administration  which  had  so  re 
cently  been  the  object  of  their  warmest  opposition,  the 
moment  they  found  the  question  to  be  between  their  own 
country  and  a  foreign  foe.  They  acted,  as  it  had  been 
fondly  hoped  the  whole  American  people  would  have 
acted:  nor  were  the  administrations  of  the  General  and 
state  Governments,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  backward  in 
bestowing  the  proudest  testimonials  of  their  approbation 
and  respect,  on  those  whose  conduct  had  been  thus  meri 
torious. 

"  It  is  true,  that,  in  so  doing,  they  have  in  some  instan 
ces  been  deceived  and  disappointed,  in  selecting,  for  high 
public  stations,  men  who  have  not  that  stamina  of  char 
acter  they  were  supposed  to  possess  ;  but  who  rendered 
giddy  by  their  sudden  elevation,  and  forgetful  of  the  sour 
ces  of  that  power  by  which  they  ascended,  will  soon  fall, 
with  the  master  spirit  in  whose  legion  they  are  enrolled, 
*  never  to  rise  again.' 

"  These  are  circumstances,  however,  which  can,  at 
most,  produce  a  transient  regret,  for  the  folly  and  weak 
ness  of  these  infatuated  men.  Such  consequences  are 
not  always  to  be  avoided  ;  but  they  are  susceptible  of  ea 
sy  and  prompt  correction.  They  do  not  tend,  in  the  least, 
to  impair  the  high  credit  which  is  justly  due  to  the  repub 
licans  of  the  state  and  Union,  for  the  course  they  adopted 
in  regard  to  the  persons  now  in  question.  That  course 
had  for  its  object,  not  the  particular  benefit  of  these  indi 
viduals  only  ;  but  was  meant  to  exemplify  the  general 
justice  of  our  policy  to  them,  and  to  show  the  rest  of  our 
countrymen  that  whilst  we  loudly  and  inexorably  con 
demned  the  remissness  of  a  portion  of  our  fellow  citizens, 
in  discharging  the  great  duties  they  owred  to  their  coun 
try,  we  dealt  out  justice  with  an  even  hand,  and  were  as 
ready  to  applaud  as  to  condemn. 

"  There  has  been,  however,  one  excepiion  in  this  liber 
al  policy,  and  it  is  an  exception  of  no  ordinary  character, 
It  exists  in  the  person  of  Rufus  King. 

"  The  dark  cloud  which  overspread  our  political  horizon, 
in  the  fall  of  1814,  struck  with  dismay  and  terror,  some 
of  the  firmest  of  our  patriots.  The  disasters  which  had 
befallen  us,  the  difficulties  which  beset,  and  the  dangers 
which  threatened  our  country  from  every  quarter,  have 
made  impressions  too  durable  to  be  soon  effaced.  The 
causes  which  jeopardize,  and  the  exertions  which  pre 
serve  the  liberties  of  a  nation,  can  never,  while  she  is 
worthy  of  their  enjoyment,  cease  lo  be  a  subject  of  the 
12 


134  THE  LIFE  OF 

keenest  solicitude,  and  most  grateful  recollection  of  her 
sons.  These  memorable  events  will  long  continue  to  oc 
cupy  the  minds,  and  employ  the  pens,  of  our  ablest  and 
best  men. 

"While  enjoying  a  season  of  peace  to  which  the  na 
tions  of  Europe  are  strangers  ;  while  advancing  in  wealth, 
population  and  grandeur,  with  a  rapidity  without  a  paral 
lel  in  the  history  of  civilized  man  ;  while  our  individual 
happiness  and  prosperity  kept  pace  with  that  of  our  be 
loved  country,  and  all  combined  to  render  us  the  envy  and 
admiration  of  the  world  ;  in  those  halcyon  days,  when  we 
knew  war  but  by  its  distant  echo,  and  the  advantages  our 
country  derived  from  the  sanguinary  conflicts  of  Europe, 
we  felt  that  our  country  was  not  only  strong  in  its  physi 
cal  force,  but  inexhaustible  in  its  resources,  and  safe  in 
the  patriotic  devotion  of  all  its  citizens. 

"  The  events  of  that  memorable  period  awoke  us,  how 
ever,  from  those  flattering  dreams,  and  dissipated  those 
dangerous  delusions.  When  we  expected  to  have  found 
ourselves  united,  we  were  a  divided  people  ;  when  the 
exigencies  of  the  country  demanded  all  her  resources, 
both  of  men  and  money,  her  public  coffers  were  kept  emp 
ty  and  her  armies  unrecruited,  by  the  ruthless  ettbrts  of 
faction. 

"  At  this  momentous  crisis,  which  applied  the  touch 
stone  to  the  hearis  of  men,  when  many  of  the  stoutest 
were  appalled  and  the  weak  despaired  of  the  republic, 
Mr.  King  was  neither  idle  nor  dismayed.  His  love  of 
country  dispelled  his  attachments  to  party.  In  terms  of 
the  warmest  solicitude  and  in  strains  of  the  most  impassion 
ed  eloquence,  he  remonstrated  in  his  correspondence  with 
the  leaders  of  the  opposition  in  this  state  and  in  the  east, 
on  the  folly,  the  madness,  and  the  mischief,  of  their  course; 
he  contributed  largely  of  his  means  to  the  loans  of  gov 
ernment  ; — he  infused  confidence  into  the  desponding,  and 
labored  to  divest  the  timid  of  their  fears;  he  sought  Go 
vernor  Tompkins,  to  whom,  from  the  warmth  of  his  de 
votion  to  his  country's  cause,  and  from  the  plenitude  of 
his  responsibility  rather  than  of  his  powers,  every  eye  was 
directed,  and  to  him  Mr.  King  communicated  the  patriotic 
ardor  with  which  he  was  himself  animated. 

"The purport  and  object  of  his  interesting  interview 
with  the  Governor,  is  thus  described  by  the  latter  :  '  Ven 
erable  and  patriotic  citizens,  such  as  Col.  Rutgers,  Col. 
Willet,  Gov.  Wolcott,  Mr.  King  and  others,  animated 
me  to  the  greatest  efforts ;  the  latter  gentleman,  in  an  in- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  135 

terview  with  me,  was  peculiarly  impressive — he  said 
'  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  every  good  citizen  was 
bound  to  put  his  all  at  the  requisition  of  government — that 
he  was  ready  to  do  this ;  that  the  people  of  the  state  of 
New  York  would  and  must  hold  me  personally  responsi 
ble  for  its  safety.'  I  acquainted  him  with  the  difficulties 
under  which  I  had  struggled  for  the  two  preceding  years, 
the  various  instances  in  which  I  had  been  already  compel 
led  to  act  without  law  or  legislative  indemnity,  and  urged, 
that  if  I  should  once  more  exert  myself  to  meet  all  the 
emergencies  and  pecuniary  difficulties  with  which  we 
were  pressed,  I  must  inevitably  ruin  myself.  '  Well,  sir, 
(added  he,  with  that  enthusiasm  which  genius  lends  to 
patriotism,)  what  is  the  ruin  of  an  individual  compared 
with  the  safety  of  the  republic '?  If  you  are  ruined,  you 
will  have  the  consolation  of  enjoying  the  gratitude  of 
your  fellow  citizens  ;  but  you  must  trust  to  the  magna 
nimity  and  justice  of  your  country,  you  must  transcend 
the  law,  you  must  save  this  city  and  state  from  the  dan 
ger  with  which  they  are  menaced,  you  must  ruin  yourself 
if  it  becomes  necessary,  and  I  pledge  you  my  honor  that  I 
will  support  you  in  whatever  you  do.'  Having  done  all 
in  his  power  to  induce  to  exertions  at  home,  Mr.  King  re 
paired  to  his  post  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and 
in  that  body  zealously  supported  the  prominent  measures 
of  the  administration  to  sustain  the  country  in  the  severe 
struggle  in  which  she  was  engaged.  He  embraced  every 
suitable  opportunity  to  keep  Governor  Tompkins,  (with 
whom  he  maintained  a  regular  correspondence,)  advised 
of  every  fact  and  circumstance  w^hich  might  be  supposed 
to  have  a  bearing  on  the  conduct  of  the  war,  its  prosecu 
tion  by  the  enemy,  and  the  probability  of  its  continuance 
or  termination. 

"  The  advantages  which  resulted  from  the  part  which 
Mr.  King  then  took,  were  by  no  means  inconsiderable  ;  it 
served  to  encourage  Governor  Tompkins  to  persevere  in 
his  exertions,  exertions  which  redounded  so  much  to  the 
honor  of  the  state,  and  so  essentially  advanced  the  inter 
ests  of  the  nation.  It  served  to  induce  the  corporation  of 
New  York,  and  some  of  the  banks,  who  were  then  in  the 
adverse  interest,  to  comply  with  requests  of  Governor 
Tompkins,  and  make  their  respective  loans  to  the  gov 
ernment,  on  receiving  his  private  responsibility,  and  pub 
lic  securities,  for  their  repayment.  It  served,  moreover, 
in  some  degree  to  retard  the  unwearied  efforts  of  the  oppo 
sition,  by  developing  their  motives,  and  bringing  shame 
on  their  measures. 


136  THE  LIFE1  OF 

"  Such  was  the  conduct  of  Mr.  King,  in  the  times  of 
which  1  have  spoken,  and  such  are  his  first  claims  on  re 
publican  confidence  and  support.  I  know  nothing  of  the 
republican  character,  nothing  of  the  views  and  sentiments 
of  men,  with  whom  I  have  been  so  closely  allied,  if  a 
consideration  of  the  facts  and  circumstances  I  have  detail 
ed,  has  not  already  led  to  a  spontaneous  and  united  wish 
to  support  Mr.  King  for  the  Senate,  if  that  support  can  be 
given  without  subjecting  them  to  the  suspicions  they  so 
justly  deprecate.  That  it  can,  I  hope  to  demonstrate  ; 
but  before  I  do  so,  I  must  solicit  a  farther  continuance  of 
your  indulgence,  whilst  I  respectfully  submit  to  your  con 
sideration,  additional  reasons,  why  his  appointment,  at 
this  time,  would  be  politic  and  just ;  and  whilst,  too,  I  ob 
viate  some  of  the  objections  which  honest  men  may  ap 
prehend,  and  which  will,  doubtless,  be  suggested  by  fac 
tion. 

"  His  talents,  his  integrity,  and  fitness  for  the  station, 
are  not  questioned.  There  are,  however,  circumstances 
in  his  life  and  character,  so  intimately  connected  with 
this  question,  as  to  entitle  them  to  particular  considera 
tion  and  remark. 

"  The  struggle  which  gave  birth  to  our  nation,  must  ev 
er  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  and  interest 
ing  eras  the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 

"'  History  records  no  event  which  called  into  action  a 
race  of  statesmen,  equal  in  all  the  splendid  virtues  which 
adorn  and  give  celebrity  to  the  human  character  ;  and  it 
is  a  fact,  honorable  to  our  nature,  that  of  the  long  list  of 
patriots  and  sages,  who,  at  the  hazard  of  all  that  was 
dear  to  man,  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
of  those  who  framed  the  great  charter  of  our  liberties, 
there  has  not  been  one  who,  in  after  life,  has  fallen  from 
the  eminence  to  which,  by  his  connection  with  those 
events,  he  was  raised  ;  or  has  in  the  least  impaired  the 
character  he  thus  acquired.  Those  whom  the  ravages  of 
time  have  yet  spared  to  their  country,  are,  every  where, 
honored  and  respected ;  and  those  whose  deaths  we  de 
plore,  who  are  now  numbered  with  '  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,'  have  descended  to  the  tomb,  accompa 
nied  by  a  Nation's  tears,  and  blessed  with  a  Nation's  grati 
tude. 

"  It  is,  certainly,  true,  that  in  the  various  contests  for 
power,  which  are  past,  revolutionary  merit  has  not  al 
ways  commanded  that  deference,  and  received  that  sup 
port,  which  might  have  been  reasonably  expected,  and 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  l#7 

perhaps  justly  claimed.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  call  in 
question  the  propriety  of  the  course  which  has  at  various 
times,  been  pursued  in  regard  to  them.  There,  doubtless, 
have  been  occasions  when  the  preferences  which  have 
been  given  to  others,  were  both  just  and  proper;  but  it 
has  always  been  a  favorite  sentiment  of  my  heart,  that, 
all  other  things  equal,  the  merit  of  which  I  am  speaking, 
ought  to  give  a  decided  preference  to  its  possessor.  I  can 
not  but  think  that  this  sentiment  is  common  to  us  all,  and 
that  the  desire  to  testify  our  gratitude,  by  availing  our 
selves  of  the  experience  and  fidelity  of  the  men  of  the  revo 
lution,  as  far  as  it  can  be  done  with  safety  and  with  honor, 
is  as  universal  as  it  is  just. 

"Mr.  King  not  only  took  an  active  part  in  the  closing 
scenes  of  the  revolution,  but  he  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  framed  the  constitution  of  our  General 
Government,  and  one  of  the  committee  to  whom  the  final 
draft  of  it  was  referred. 

"As  early  as  the  year  1796,  Mr.  King  was  appointed, 
by  General  Washington,  minister  to  the  court  of  St. 
James.  He  represented  our  government  at  that  court 
during  the  last  year  of  that  truly  great  and  good  man's 
administration,  and  throughout  that  of  Mr.  Adams ;  and 
such  was  his  understanding  of,  and  his  attention  to,  the 
great  and  leading  interests  of  the  country,  that  notwith 
standing  the  party  violence  of  the  times,  he  was  continu 
ed  by  the  illustrious  head  and  founder  of  our  party,  Mr. 
Jefferson,  for  the  first  two  years  of  his  administration,  and 
until  Mr.  King  solicited  his  own  recall.  With  the  ex 
ception  of  a  single  case,  growing  out  of  individual  con 
cerns,  and  of  limited  operation,  the  merits  of  which  are 
before  the  public,  and  have  been  amply  discussed,  the 
great  duties  of  his  station  were  discharged  in  a  manner 
highly  satisfactory  to  all  classes  of  his  fellow  citizens.  I 
know  well  the  fears  wrhich  existed  in  the  minds  of  many 
honest  men  in  the  country,  that  his  long  residence  in 
England,  had  impressed  him  with  undue  partialities  for 
that  nation  ;  a  belief  which,  doubtless,  derived  much 
force  from  the  mutual  crimination  and  recrimination,  of 
'  French  influence,'  and  '  British  influence,'  common  to 
the  times,  and,  in  a  great  degree,  springing  from  the  over 
heated  agitations  of  party.  I  claim  no  exemption  from 
their  influence  ;  but  whatever  may  have  been  the  feelings 
or  prejudices  of  that  early  period,  his  recent  and  splendid 
exertions  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  to  improve 
our  navigation  laws,  and  to  protect  our  commercial  rights 
12* 


138  THE  LIFE  OF 

and  interests,  against  the  encroachments  of  the  British 
government ;  the  success  which  has  attended  those. exer- 
tions  ;  the  wisdom  which  was  displayed  in  their  adoption, 
and  the  strong  interest  they  have  excited  in  Grcatw  Brit 
ain  ;  the  patriotic  course  he  pursued  in  our  recent  contest 
with  that  power ;  the  general  tenor  of  his  political  con 
duct  for  the  last  five  years,  and  the  fact,  that  he  has  se 
cured,  and  enjoys,  the  full  confidence  of  the  men  who 
compose  the  present  administration  of  the  general  gov 
ernment^  and  who  have  had  the  best  possible  opportunity 
to  judge  of  his  motives  and  his  conduct,  and  in  whose  in 
tegrity  and  discernment  we  may  safely  repose  ;  these, 
together  with  other  circumstances,  have  satisfied  me,  that 
the  unfavorable  impressions  which,  in  that  respect,  in 
common  with  the  great  body  of  the  republicans  of  the 
state,  I  have  heretofore  indulged  against  him,  were  unjust 
and  unfounded,  and  as  such,  I  cheerfully  dismiss  them. 

"  The  great  advantage  which  would,  probably,  be  de 
rived  to  the  state  and  the  Union,  from  the  appointment  of 
a  statesman,  who;  to  splendid  talents,  adds  such  collateral 
advantages,  and  whose  views  are  in  unison  with  those  of 
the  General  Government,  must  be  obvious  to  you,  and 
cannot  fail  to  receive  at  your  hands,  all  the  weight  to 
which  they  are  so  justly  entitled. 

"  I  have  deplored  the  violence  of  party,  and  lamented 
the  injurious  consequences  which  have  resulted  from  its 
indulgence.  It  is  possible  that  I  am  not  entirely  free 
from  the  infirmity  I  condemn,  and  I  fear  that  what  I  am 
about  to  state,  may  tend  to  impress  that  belief.  I  know, 
however,  of  but  one  true  course  in  such  matters,  and  that 
is,  to  avow,  with  frankness,  sentiments  which  are  enter 
tained  with  sincerity,  and  to  trust  to  their  justice  for  their 
success." 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  say  that,  if  he  had 
not  reason  to  believe  Mr.  King  to  be  decidedly 
with  the  republican  party,  in  their  opposition  to 
Mr.  Clinton,  he  should  promptly  and  zealously  op 
pose  his  appointment ;  and  that  the  want  of  clear 
information  on  this  point,  and  also  with  respect  to 
the  former  election  of  Mr.  King  had  occasioned 
some  embarrassment  in  regard  to  his  support,  by 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  139 

the  democratic  party,  the  preceding  winter.     He 
then  adds : 


"Under  these  circumstances,  we  selected  one  of  our 
old  and  tried  friends  as  the  object  of  our  support,  and 
thereby  abstained  from  a  course,  as  to  which  we  had  not 
the  necessary  information  to  enable  us  to  act  with  safety 
to  ourselves  and  justice  to  our  constituents. 

"  The  state  of  parties,  too,  rendered  it  reasonably  cer 
tain,  that  without  the  acquiescence  of  our  friends,  there 
would  be  no  choice,  and  the  situation  of  things  admitted 
of  a  continuance  of  the  vacancy,  without  great  public 
prejudice,  until  the  ensuing  session.  Thus  an  opportuni 
ty  was  afforded  to  the  republican  members,  not  only  to 
defer  a  final  decision  on  the  question,  until  the  wishes  of 
the  people  could  be  known  on  the  subject,  (at  all  times 
an  object  of  solicitude  with  them,  a  sentiment  just  and 
proper  in  itself,  and  one  which  it  is  hoped  they  will  al 
ways  revere,  notwithstanding  the  jeers  of  the  political 
upstarts  of  the  day,)  but  also  to  wait  for  a  subsequent  de 
velopment  which  would  either  confirm  their  doubts  or 
remove  the  cause  of  them." 

"  A  few  words  more,  on  the  only  remaining  subject 
which  I  have  proposed  to  examine,  and  I  close  an  appeal 
which  has  already  been  extended  farther  than  was  con 
templated,  or  may,  perhaps,  be  proper.  It  is  certainly 
very  extensively  believed,  that  our  legislative  halls  have 
in  repeated  instances  been  made  the  theatres  of  the  most 
exceptionable  and  unprincipled  political  bargains  and 
coalitions  ;  of  coalitions  in  which  men  acted,  not  from  the 
honest  dictates  of  their  consciences  and  with  a  single  eye 
to  the  public  interests,  but  from  the  unworthy  motives  of 
personal  aggrandizement,  not  only  disconnected  with  the 
public  good,  but  in  many  instances  in  direct  hostility 
against  it.  It  is  equally  trup,  that  in  proportion  as  those 
charges  have  been  credited  abroad,  the  character  of  our 
state  has  sunk  in  the  estimation  of  our  sister  states.  It  is 
not  my  intention,  at  this  time,  to  enter  into  an  investiga 
tion  of  the  truth  of  these  charges.  It  will,  doubtless, 
50o?i  become  necessary  to  probe  them,  as  well  as  other 
transactions  of  a  deeper  cast,  and  still  more  injurious  in 
their  effects  upon  our  public  character,  to  their  inmost 
recesses  ;  to  separate  the  innocent  from  the  guilty  ;  to 
vindicate  the  great  body  of  our  citizens  from  the  charge 


140  THE  LIFP:  OF 

of  participating  in  the  profligacy  of  the  few,  and  to  give 
rest  to  that  perturbed  spirit  which  now  haunts  the  scenes 
of  former  moral  and  political  debaucheries — to  the  end, 
that  this  great  and  otherwise  flourishing  state,  may  no 
longer  be  retarded  in  her  march  to  that  respectability  and 
influence,  to  which  she  is  so  eminently  entitled.  But  of 
this  hereafter. 

"It  is,  as  I  have  already  stated,  apprehended  by  several 
honest  men,  whose  devotion  to  the  republican  cause,  and 
whose  good  opinion  I  hold  in  the  highest  regard,  that  the 
support  of  Mr.  King,  at  this  time,  might  expose  us  to  the 
suspicion  of  being  influenced  in  our  determination,  by  the 
single  view  of  securing  the  co-operation  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  federal  members  to  effect  the  various  legisla 
tive  objects  at  the  next  session,  for  which  parlies  general 
ly,  as  it  is  natural  they  should,  feel  considerable  solici 
tude. 

"  This  is  the  matter  fairly  and  plainly  stated.  Now, 
strong  as  my  desire  is  that  we  should  confer  on  Mr.  King 
our  support ;  sensible  as  I  am  of  the  tendency  of  such  a 
measure,  to  repel  and  to  put  to  shame  the  volumes  of  ca 
lumny  and  scurrility  which  have  been  heaped  on  us,  by 
those  who  deceive  themselves  with  the  hopes  of  breaking 
down  the  free  spirit  of  a  great  party,  and  grateful  as  I 
know  it  would  be  to  the  feelings  of  distinguished  repub 
licans  in  our  sister  states,  still,  if  I  believed  there  was 
adequate  cause  for  such  apprehensions,  /  would  on  that 
ground  forego  its  adoption.  For  it  is  not  so  important 
that  we  succeed  soon,  as  it  is  that,  when  we  do  so,  we 
proceed  in  a  manner  the  most  unexceptionable.  But  I 
know  well  that  those  fears  are  groundless. 

"  Our  party,  in  the  first  place,  is  not  liable  to  suspicions 
of  this  kind.  We  have  throughout  sustained  a  character 
which  has,  and  will  continue  to  exempt  us  from  them. 
We  are  not  a  '  personal  party?  We  have  no  individu 
als  amongst  us,  who  claim  and  exercise  the  right  of  stip 
ulating  for  our  acts,  nothing  is  done  for  us,  that  is  not 
done  by  the  will  of  the  majority,  and  which  is  not  well 
understood  to  be  in  unison  with  the  general  sentiments, 
and  consonant  to  the  wishes  of  the  people.  With  a  party 
so  organized,  and  thus  acting,  motives  so  justly  depreca 
ted  can  seldom,  if  ever,  operate,  and,  of  course,  the  sus 
picion  of  their  existence  is  not  likely  to  arise." 

Mr.  King  was  elected  at  the  following  session  of 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  141 

the  Legislature,  (February  1S20,)  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Senate,  and  with  but  three  dissenting 
votes  in  the  house  of  Representatives.  It  will  be 
seen  by  the  extracts,  here  given,  that  the  support  of 
Mr.  King  was  yielded  on  grounds  in  no  way  con 
nected  with  the  questions  which  had  recently  been 
agitated,  with  regard  to  the  admission  of  Missouri 
into  the  Union. 

There  are  few  acts  in  the  public  life  of  any 
statesman,  more  liberal  and  high-minded  than  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  support  of  Mr.  King  ;  yet  few  have 
ever  been  assailed  with  greater  violence  and  un 
fairness.  But  the  utmost  efforts  of  his  political  op 
ponents  have  never  been  able  to  attach  the  slight 
est  suspicion  to  his  conduct,  or  to  detect  the  feeblest 
indication  of  indirect  motives  in  the  whole  trans 
action.  No  public  or  private  document  has  ever 
been  adduced  to  show  that  the  true  reasons,  and 
the  only  reasons,  for  the  course  which  was  taken 
by  the  republican  members  of  the  Legislature  on 
that  occasion,  were  not  contained  in  the  pamphlet 
whose  substance  is  above  given.  An  extract  from 
what  purports  to  have  been  a  private  letter  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  to  a  political  friend,  has  been  laid  be 
fore  the  public.  Whether  this  extract  is  authentic 
or  false  is  unknown  to  the  present  writer.  But  as 
it  is  the  only  document,  of  any  kind,  which  either 
the  public  scrutiny  or  the  private  treachery  of  the 
enemies  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  has  been  able  to  ad 
duce,  it  is  here  subjoined,  and  its  consistency  with 
the  views  above  taken  is  left  without  comment,  ta 
the  judgment  of  the  reader. 


142  THE  LIFE  OF 

"I  should  sorely  regret  to  find  any  flagging  on  the  sub 
ject  of  Mr.  King.  We  are  committed  to  his  support.  It 
is  both  wise  and  honest;  and  we  must  have  no  fluttering 
in  our  course.  Mr.  King's  views  towards  us  are  honorable 
and  correct.  The  Missouri  question  conceals,  so  far  as 
he  is  concerned,  no  plot,  and  we  shall  give  it  a  true  direc 
tion.  You  know  what  the  feelings  and  views  of  our 
friends  were,  when  I  saw  you;  and  you  know  what  we 
then  concluded  to  do.  My  'considerations'  &c.  and  the 
aspect  of  the  Albany  Argus,  will  show  you  that  we  have 
entered  on  the  work  in  earnest.  We  cannot,  therefore, 
look  back.  Let  us  not,  then,  have  any  halting.  I  will 
put  my  head  on  its  propriety." 

In  the  winter  of  1819-20,  a  public  meeting  of 
the  citizens  of  Albany  was  convened  to  express 
their  opinions  on  the  extension  of  slavery  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  Mr.  Van  Buren  has  been  censur 
ed  for  the  measures  which  resulted  from  this  meet 
ing.  His  connection  with  the  whole  transaction 
will  therefore  be  briefly  stated.  He  had  no  agen 
cy  whatever,  in  commencing  the  original  meeting 
and  did  not  attend  it.  The  only  step  taken  at  that 
meeting  was,  to  appoint  a  committee  to  call  a  more 
general  convention  of  the  citizens.  His  name 
was  placed  on  that  committee  in  his  absence,  and 
his  permission  was  afterwards  obtained  to  retain 
it  When  the  large  meeting  was  held,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  absent  from  Albany  on  professional 
business.  Sundry  resolutions  were  adopted,  and 
a  further  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  me 
morial  to  Congress.  The  memorial  was  immedi 
ately  reported  to  the  meeting  and  adopted.  Mr, 
Van  Buren's  name  had  also  been  placed  on  this 
latter  committee,  though  he  was  not  present ;  but 
DJI  his  return  to  the  city,  he  declined  signing  the 


MARTIN   VAN  BUREN.  143 

memorial  or  co-operating  with  the  committee  in 
transmitting  it  to  Congress ;  as  he  disapproved  of 
the  sentiments  contained  in  the  resolutions.  His 
refusal  called  forth  a  letter  from  Mr.  Jones,  by 
whose  agency  his  name  had  been  placed  on  the 
committee.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  that  letter 
together  with  Mr.  Van  Buren's  reply. 


ALBANY,  Jar.  19,  1820. 
"  To  the  Hon.  M.  Van  Bur  en : 

"Sir:  I  am  informed  that  you  declined  signing  the  res 
olutions  which  were  sent  to  Washington,  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  the  Missouri  Question,  upon  the  ground  that  you 
never  authorized  your  name  to  be  used  as  one  of  the  com- 
m.ttee  on  that  occasion. 

"  Before  any  steps  were  taken  on  the  subject,  I  called 
upon  you  myself  to  learn  if  you  was  willing  to  be  one  of 
that  committee.  You  replied  not;  that  you  was  so  much 
occupied  that  you  could  not  attend  to  it — I  remarked  that 
there  \vas  enough  to  do  the  business,  and  that  we  only 
wished  for  your  name — in  answer  to  which  you  observed, 
that  you  had  no  objection  to  our  making  use  of  your 
name.  It'you  have  forgotten  this  conversation,  Mr.  Du- 
er,  who  was  present,  will  undoubtedly  be  able  to  refresh 
your  memory.  I  think  that  your  refusal  to  sign  your 
name  should  have  been  grounded  upon  other  reasons,  than 
want  of  authority  to  use  it. 

"You  must  be  sensible,  sir,  that  I  care  nothing  about 
this  affair,  any  further,  than  that  it  places  me  in  an  un 
pleasant  situation  ;  and  I  presume,  in  justice  to  me,  you 
will  retract  the  assertion,  that  you  did  not  authorize  the 
use  of  your  name. 

"  Respectfully  yours.  &c. 

"  HENRY  T.  JONES.'1 

"P.  S.  I  should  call  on  you,  but  you  are  so  occupied 
that  it  is  difficult  to  find  you  disengaged." 

"  Sir:  You  had  my  permission  to  use  my  name  as  a 
committee  to  call  a  meeting  of  our  citizens  to  express 
their  opinion  on  the  Missouri  Question,  and  the  propriety 
of  your  doing  so  has  not  been  questioned  by  me.  You 
surely  cannot  suppose  that  the  use  of  my  name  for  that 
purpose,  imposed  on  me  an  obligation  to  sign  whatever 
memorial  might  be  agreed  upon  by  the  meeting.  Being 


144        LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

out  of  town  when  it  was  held,  and  having  no  hand  in  for 
ming  and  adopting  the  memorial,  1  declined  signing  it. 
My  reasons  for  doing  so,  further  than  you  are  concerned 
in  calling  the  meeting,  I  presume  it  is  not  your  mtrntion 
to  inquire  into. 

"Yours  respectfully, 

"  M.  V.  BUREN. 
"Jan.  20th,  1820. 
"HENRY  T.  JONES,  ESQ." 

This  is  an  accurate  account  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
whole  connection  with  the  meeting  in  Albany,  and 
cannot  in  any  particular  be  impugned.  It  will  re 
quire  no  small  degree  of  ingenuity  to  find,  in  his 
part  of  the  transaction,  any  ground  of  censure. 

The  attention  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York 
was  called  to  the  question  of  admitting  Missouri  in 
to  the  Union,  with  the  right  to  hold  slaves,  in  the 
message  of  Governor  Clinton,  at  the  opening  of 
the  session,  in  January  1820.  An  expression  of 
their  opinion  was  earnestly  recommended.  In 
compliance  with  this  recommendation,  the  house  of 
Representatives  adopted  a  resolution,  instructing 
their  Senators  and  requesting  the  Representatives 
of  the  state  in  Congress,  "  to  oppose  the  admission 
as  a  state  in  the  Union,  of  any  territory  not  com 
prised  within  the  original  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  without  making  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
therein,  an  indispensable  condition  of  admission." 
The  Senate  concurred  in  this  resolution  with 
out  division  or  debate,  and  among  them  Mr. 
Van  Buren  ;  though  it  was  not  brought  before  the 
Legislature  by  his  agency.  Still  he  must  be  re 
garded  as  having  concurred,  at  that  time,  in  the 
sentiment  of  the  resolution  thus  adopted  by  the 
Legislature. 


CHAPTER     X . 


MR.  VAN  BCREN  is  elected  a  Senator  of  Lhe  United 
States.  His  participation  in  the  Convention  to 
amend  the  Constitution  of  New  York.  Speech  on 
resting  veto  power  in  the  Governor.  On  the  length 
of  Governor's  tenure  of  office.  On  prefixing  a  bill  of 
rights.  On  the  elective  franchise.  Vote  on  admit 
ting  colored  people  to  be  electors.  Speech  on  the  ap 
pointment  of  Justices  of  the  Peace.  On  the  re-organ 
ization  of  the  Supreme  Court  so  as  to  eject  the  in 
cumbents. 

On  the  6th  day  of  February,  1821,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  appointed,  by  the  Legislature  of  New 
York,  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  In  the  house  of  Representatives  he  re 
ceived  sixty-nine  votes  and  Nathan  Sanfordj^/fy- 
tico ;  in  the  Senate  the  majority  for  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren  was  eight.  The  Clintonians,  together  with  the 
federalists,  voted  for  Mr.  Sanford,  an  expression 
of  their  confidence  for  which,  it  is  believed,  that 
gentleman  was  not  remarkably  grateful. 
13 


140  THE  LIFE  OF 

Before  attending  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  this  dignifi 
ed  theatre  of  action,  it  will  be  proper  to  examine 
his  exertions  as  a  member  of  a  public  body  in  his 
native  state,  charged  with  the  most  solemn  and  re 
sponsible  duties.  This  public  body  was  a  conven 
tion  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  state. 

The  constitution  of  the  state  of  New  York  was 
adopted  in  1777,  and  received  some  amendment 
in  1801.  It  was,  however,  disfigured  by  many 
defects,  especially  with  regard  to  the  mode  of  ap 
pointing  to  office,  the  revision  exercised  by  a  Coun 
cil  over  the  acts  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  limita 
tions  imposed  upon  the  right  of  suffrage.  These  ob 
noxious  provisions  became  so  apparent,  during  the 
party  collisions  which  preceded  the  year  1821, 
that  the  Legislature  in  its  session  that  year,  provi 
ded,  by  law,  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  con 
vention  for  the  revision  of  the  constitution.  The 
measure  was  warmly  advocated  by  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren,  especially  with  reference  to  the  extension  of 
the  right  of  suffrage. 

Accordingly,  the  convention  was  opened  on  the 
28th  day  of  August  1821.  Mr.  Van  Buren,  then 
United  States  Senator  elect,  was,  unexpectedly  to 
himself,  returned  as  a  member  of  the  convention 
by  the  republicans  of  Otsego  County.  The  con 
vention  was  not  limited,  either  in  the  nature  or  ex 
tent  of  its  amendments,  which  however  were  only 
to  become  a  part  of  the  constitution,  by  the  subse 
quent  assent  of  the  people. 

Public  expectation  was  highly  raised  with  re 
gard  to  the  results  of  this  convention,  which  em- 


MART1X  VAN  BUREN.  147 

braced  some  of  the  most  venerable,  distinguished, 
and  active  men  in  the  state.  It  appeared  to  be 
their  duty,  almost  to  fix  anew,  the  principles  of 
government  for  a  free  people.  The  magnitude  of 
the  changes  finally  proposed  even  exceeded  all  pre 
vious  anticipation.  The  executive,  judicial,  and  le 
gislative  departments  were  all  remodelled  ;  and  the 
appointing  and  revisory  powers  were  placed  in 
new  hands.  Several  important  miscellaneous  al 
terations  were  made,  and  the  right  of  suffrage  very 
greatly  extended. 

During  the  discussions  which  resulted  in  these 
amendments,  all  the  great  interests  of  a  free  people 
passed  under  review ;  the  principles  of  govern 
ment  were  largely  debated ;  the  political  history 
of  the  state  was  retraced,  and  the  foundations  of 
its  civil,  religious,  and  social  institutions  underwent 
examination.  In  short,  the  convention  exercised 
the  right  which  had  been  entrusted  to  them  by  the 
sovereign  people,  of  offering  to  their  acceptance  a 
constitution  wrhich  was  to  form  the  basis  of  their 
government,  and  the  great  charter  of  their  rights 
and  liberties. 

The  active  agency  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  origi 
nating  this  convention,  avo\vedly  for  the  extension 
of  popular  rights  ;  his  conspicuous  station,  as  Sen 
ator  elect  of  the  United  States  ;  his  prominence  as 
the  leader  of  a  great  party  ;  his  high  reputation  for 
profound  legal  knowledge  ;  his  political  experience 
and  information  ;  and  the  confidence  reposed  in 
his  integrity  and  talents,  conspired  to  fix  public  at 
tention  upon  his  conduct  and  to  devolve  upon  him 
a  heavy  responsibility. 


148  THE  LIFE  OK 

It  will  be  impossible  to  embody  in  the  present 
narrative,  a  complete  account  of  his  laborious  ser 
vices  in  this  convention,  or,  at  a  subsequent  period) 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  The  writer 
will,  therefore,  aim  to  indicate  his  leading  meas 
ures,  and  the  part  he  took  on  all  questions  of  im 
portance,  subjoining  such  extracts  from  his  speech 
es  and  propositions  as  seem  to  illustrate  his  views 
of  the  general  principles  of  political  science,  as 
well  as  the  reasons  of  his  course  in  each  important 
matter.  These  extracts  will  enable  the  reader  to 
form  an  opinion  of  his  discretion,  candor  and  use 
fulness,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  accus 
tomed  to  discuss  questions  of  political  importance. 

They  will,  however,  but  imperfectly  indicate  the 
real  amount  of  his  laborious  participation  in  the 
business  of  the  convention.  It  will  be  impracti 
cable  to  follow  him  through  the  tedious  forms  and 
practical  details,  indispensable  to  the  operations  of 
any  regular  organized  deliberative  body  ;  nor  is  it 
possible  to  display  his  assiduous  industry,  thorough 
research,  and  indefatigable  efforts  in  the  commit 
tee-room.  He  never  detained  the  convention  with 
speaking  except  when  compelled  by  necessity,  and 
although,  in  that  enlightened  assembly,  his  experi 
ence  in  public  affairs  and  his  unrivalled  political  in 
fluence,  gave  him  the  foremost  rank,  his  conduct 
was  rather  distinguished  for  its  moderation,  dignity 
and  patriotism,  than  by  any  over-bearing  exercise 
of  the  power  conferred  by  his  favorable  position, 
The  proceedings  of  the  convention  have  been  laid 
before  the  public  in  a  separate  volume,  and  who- 


MARTIN  VAN  BURRN.  149 

ever  refers  to  it,  will  find  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren  to  be  among  the  ablest  it  contains.  The 
clearness  and  comprehensiveness  displayed  in  his 
discussions  of  the  great  principles  of  government ; 
the  soundness,  justice,  and  moderation  of  his  views 
of  the  important  questions  which  arose  in  the  con 
vention,  will  not  fail  to  impress  the  reader  with  the 
most  favorable  opinion  of  his  integrity  and  talent. 

The  business  of  the  convention  \vas  brought 
forward,  by  referring  each  important  portion  of 
the  constitution  to  a  committee,  \vith  directions  to 
report  the  alterations  and  amendments  it  might 
seem  to  them  to  require.  That  portion  which  re 
lated  to  "  the  power  of  appointment  to  office,  and 
the  tenure  thereof,"  was  referred  to  a  committee 
of  seven,  of  wrhich  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  chair 
man. 

The  first  occasion  upon  which  Mr.  Van  Buren 
expressed  his  views,  at  length,  in  the  convention, 
was  upon  a  report  of  the  committee  on  the  revi 
sory  power,  proposing  to  vest  in  the  Governor, 
the  right  to  return  a  bill  which  had  passed  both 
houses,  and  requiring  it  to  be  re-passed,  in  each 
house,  by  a  majority  of  two  thirds,  before  it  should 
become  a  la\v.  The  provision  was  nearly  in  the 
wrords  of  that  article  of  the  constitution  .of  the 
United  States,  which  confers  upon  the  President 
the  veto  power.  The  exercise  of  that  power,  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  on  two  or  three 
occasions  of  great  interest,  during  the  last  six  years, 
has  turned  public  attention  to  an  examination  of  its 
utility  and  the  proper  method  of  its  exercise. 


150  THE  LIFE  OF 

The  views  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  this  important 
question  deserve,  therefore,  particular  attention  ; 
and  the  speech  here  subjoined,  not  only  fully  ex 
plains  these  views,  hut  embraces  an  able  discussion 
of  some  of  the  most  important  principles  of  gov 
ernment. 


Mr.  Van  Buren  said  ;  "  I  had  flattered  myself,  Mr. 
Chairman,  that  the  Convention  would  have  adopted  the 
revisory  power  proposed  by  the  select  committee,  with 
the  same  unanimity  with  which  they  determined,  on 
Tuesday,  to  expunge  the  thircTarticle  of  the  constitution, 
and  to  separate  the  judiciary  from  the  Legislature.  But 
in  that  expectation  [  have  been  disappointed.  Notwith 
standing  the  unanimous  recommendation  of  the  select 
comoiittee,  and  the  able  manner  in  which  it  has  been  sup 
ported,  a  powerful  opposition  to  it  appears  to  exist.  A 
proposition  has  been  made  by  the  gentleman  from  Dutch- 
ess  (Mr.  Livingston)  which  from  the  respectability  of  the 
source  from  whence  it  emanates,  the  precedents  on  which 
it  is  founded,  and  the  talents  and  character  enlisted  in  its 
support,  is  entitled  to  the  highest  consideration.  I  shall, 
therefore,  proceed  to  the  discussion,  with  all  the  brevity 
which  the  importance  of  the  subject  will  admit,  and  all 
the  simplicity  of  which  I  am  capable. 

"  In  the  course  of  that  discussion,  the  first  question  for 
our  consideration,  is,  whether  it  is  wiso  and  proper  that  a 
restriction  of  any  kind  should  be  placed  upon  the  legisla 
tive  power  ?  On  that  subject  it  would  seem  that  little 
doubt  could  remain.  That  a  check  of  some  kind  is  neces 
sary,  is  a  principle  that  has  received  the  sanction,  and  been 
confirmed  by  the  experience  of  ages.  A  large  majority  of 
the  states  iu  the  Union,  in  which,  if  the  science  of  gov 
ernment  be  not  belter  understood,  its  first  principles  are 
certainly  more  faithfully  regarded  than  in  any  other 
country,  have  provided  restrictions  of  this  sort.  In  the 
constitutions  of  the  freest  governments  in  Europe,  the 
same  principle  is  adopted.  It  is  conceded  in  both  the 
propositions  before  the  committee. 

"  The  one  imposes  the  restriction  by  requiring  two- 
thirds  of  the  Legislature  to  pass  a  bill  which  may  have 
been  returned  ;  and  the  other,  by  requiring  not  only  a  ma 
jority  of  the  members  present,  but  a  majority  of  all  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  151 

members  elected.     It  would  sccin,  therefore,  that  on  the 
genera!  principle  that  a  restriction  is   proper,  we  are  all 
agreed  ;  and  the  question  arises,   is  the  amendment  pro 
posed  by  the  gentleman  from  Dutchess  more  desirable, 
and  better  adapted  to  perform  the  office  intended,  than  the 
proposition  introduced  by  the  committee?  To  arrive  at  a 
just  conclusion  on  this  subject,  it  will  be  necessary   care 
fully  to  consider  the  design  of  such  a  check,  and  the   ad 
vantages  which  arc  expected  to  result  from  it.     Its  object 
is,  first,  to  guard  against  hasty  and   improvident  legisla 
tion;  but  more  especially,  to  protect  the  executive  and  ju 
dicial  departments  from  legislative  encroachments.  With 
regard  to  the  first  of  these  objects — the  prevention  of  has-- 
ry  and  improvident  legislation — the  system  of  every  free 
government  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  checks,   for 
that  purpose,    are  wise,  salutary,  and  proper.     Hence  the 
division  of  all   legislative  bodies   into  distinct  branches, 
each  with  an  absolute  negative  upon  the  other.     The  tal 
ents,  wisdom,  and  patriotism  of  the  representatives  could 
be  thrown  into  one  branch,  and   the  public  money  saved 
by  this  procedure  ;  still  experience  demonstrates  that  such 
a  plan  tends  alike  to  the  destruction  of  public  liberty  and 
private  rights.     They  adopted  it  in  Pennsylvania,  and  it 
is  said  to  have  received  the  approbation  of  the  illustrious 
Franklin  ;  but  they   found  that  one  branch  only,  led  to 
pernicious  effects.'   The  system  endured  but  fora  season  ; 
and  the   necessity  of  different  branches   of  their  govern 
ment,  to  act  as  mutual  checks  upon  each  other,   was  per 
ceived,  and  the  conviction  was  followed  by  an  alteration 
of  their  constitution.     The  first  step,  then,  towards  check 
ing  the  wild  career  of  legislation,   is  the   organization  of 
two  branches  of  the  Legislature.     Composed   of  different 
materials,  they  mutually   watch  over  the  proceedings  of 
each  other.     And  having  the  benefit  of  separate   discus 
sions,  their  measures  receive  a  more  thorough  examina 
tion,  which  uniformly  leads  to  more  favorable  results. — 
But  between  these  branches,  as  they  are  kindred  bodies, 
it  might  sometimes  happen   that  the  same  feelings  and 
passions  would  prevail — feelings  and  passions  which  might 
lead  to  dangerous  results.     This  rendered  it  necessary3 to 
establish  a  third  branch,  to  revise  the  proceedings   of  the 
two.     But  as  this  revisory  power  has  generally  been  pla 
ced  in  a  small  body,  or  a  single  hand,  it  is  not  vested  with 
an  absolute,  but  merely  with  a  qualified  negative.     And 
our  experience  has  proved  that  this  third  provision  against 
hasty  and  unadvised  acts  of  the  Legislature,  has  been  sal- 


THE  LIFE  OF 

utary  and  profitable.  The  people  of  this  state  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  looking  at  the  proceedings  of  the  Legisla 
ture  thus  constituted,  and  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
this  revisory  power.  Their  objections  have  never  been 
that  this  revisory  power  existed,  or  that  it  was  distinct 
from  the  Legislature  ;  but  they  do  complain  that  it  is  pla 
ced  in  improper  hands ;  in  the  hands  of  persons  not  di 
rectly  responsible  to  the  people,  and  whose  duty  forbids 
all  connection  with  the  Legislature.  I  am  one  of  those 
who  fully  believe  in  the  force  and  efficacy  of  that  objec 
tion. 

"The  Council  of  revision  was  disposed  of  by  the  vote 
of  Tuesday,  and  I  could  have  wished  that  all  further  dis 
cussion  on  the  subject  of  its  merits  or  demerits  had  been 
dispensed  with  ;  but  a  different  course  has  been  pursued. 
From  the  explanations  of  the  chairman  of  the  select  com 
mittee,  the  public  would  infer  that  we  voted  for  the  abo 
lition  of  the  Council  of  revision  from  feelings  of  delicacy 
and  tenderness  to  the  judiciary  and  to  shield  them  from 
unjust  calumny.  Sir,  my  vote  was  not  given  from  any 
such  motive.  I  will  not  vote  for  the  abolition  of  any  arti 
cle  of  the  constitution  out  of  kindness  to  any  individual. 
I  should  be  ashamed  to  have  my  vote  go  forth  to  my  con 
stituents  upon  any  such  grounds.  The  Council  of  re  vis.' 
ion  has  not  answered  the  purposes  for  which  our  fathers 
intended  it.  This  is  the  ground  and  motive  upon  which 
my  vote  was  given.  I  object  to  the  Council,  as  being 
composed  of  the  judiciary,  who  are  not  directly  responsi 
ble  to  the  people.  I  object  to  it,  because  it  inevitably  con 
nects  the  judiciary — those  who,  with  pure  hearts,  and 
sound  heads,  should  preside  in  the  sanctuaries  of  justice, 
with  the  intrigues  and  collisions  of  party  strife  ;  because 
it  tends  to  make  our  judges  politicians,  and  because  such 
has  been  its  practical  effect.  I  am  warranted  by  facts  in 
making  this  objection.  If  such  had  not  been  the  case,  I 
should  not  have  voted  for  expunging  the  third  article  of 
the  constitution. 

"  I  highly  esteem  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Oneida, 
(Judge  Platt,)  who  yesterday  thought  it  his  duty  to  raise 
a  discussion  upon  the  merits  of  the  Council.  I  regret  that 
he  has  done  so.  [Judge  Platt  rose  and  stated,  that  that 
part  of  the  subject  was  distinctly  introduced  by  the  gen 
tleman  from  Dutchess,  (Mr.  Livingston)  and  that  he  felt 
it  his  duty  to  reply.  It  was  that  gentleman  who  had  giv 
en  this  direction  to  the  debate.]  MR.  VAN  BUREN.  I  was 
not  aware  of  that  fact,  but  it  in  no  sense  changes  the 


MARTLV  VAN  BUREN.  153 

character  of  what  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  say.  I\o  man  on 
this  floor  is  more  averse  to  a  discussion  on  that  subject 
than  I  am  ;  but  since  the  example  has  been  set  I  shall 
proceed.  I  respect  the  members  of  the  Council  of  revi 
sion,  and  for  their  sakes,  this  debate  should  never  have 
been  introduced.  It  will  become  our  duly  to  revise  that 
part  of  our  constitution  relating  to  the  judiciary,  and  it  is 
of  vital  importance  to  its  members,  to  preserve  them  free 
from  prejudice. 

';  Sir,  have  I  not  assumed  the  true  ground  which  occa 
sioned  the  unanimous  vote  of  Tuesday,  for  separating  the 
judiciary  from  the  legislative  department  ?  It  needs  but 
a  slight  view  tu  show  that  the  operations  of"  the  Council 
have  been  such  as  I  have  stated.  On  the  subject  I  will 
only  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  two  instances. 
The  tirst,  is  that  to  which  the  gentleman  from  Dutchess 
yesterday  adverted.  I  ask  the  convention  for  a  moment  to 
recur  to  that  lamentable  occasion,  when  the  high  power 
of  prorogation  was  exercised  by  ths  executive,  to  check 
the  torrent  of  corruption,  which  had  set  in  upon  the  Le 
gislature,  axid  which  proved  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of 
some  constitutional  check.*  This  proving  ineffectual 
every  eye  was  turned  to  the  Council  of  revision,  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  the  measure  about  to  be  adopted.  What 
was  their  course  ?  The  bill  which  had  occasioned  that 
strong  exercise  of  power,  was  passed  by  the  Council,  al 
though  there  were  not  wanting  in  that  Council,  men  who 
were  alive  to  the  interests  and  the  honor  of  the  state ;  the 
language  of  the  majority  was,  that  the  bill  upon  its  face, 
contained  no  provision  contrary  to  the  constitution,  and 
that  the  Legislature  were  the  judges  of  its  expediency. 

"Pursue  the  subject  farther.  The  scenes  which  passed 
within  these  walls,  during  the  darkest  period  of  the  late 
war,  cannot  be  forgotten.  It  is  well  known  that  the  two 
branches  of  the  Legislature  were  divided  ;  while  in  the 
one  house  we  were  exerting  ourselves  to  provide  for  the 
defence  of  the  country,  the  other  house  were  preparing 
impeachments  against  the  executive  for  appropriating 
money  without  law,  for  the  defence  of  the  state.  But  the 
effort  was  unavailing.  An  election  intervened,  and  the 
people,  with  honorable  fidelity  to  the  best  interests  of 

*This  allusion  is  to  the  prorogation  of  the  Legislature  by  Gov. 
Tompkins  in  1812,  to  prevent  tjie  incorporation  of  the  Bank  ot 
America. 


154  THE  LIFE  OF 

their  country,  returned  a  Legislature  ready  and  willing  to- 
apply  the  public  resources  tor  the  public  defence.  They 
did  so.  They  passed  a  variety  of  acts,  called  fcr  by  the 
exigencies  of  our  country.  But  from  the  Council  of  re 
vision  were  fulminated  objections  to  the  passage  of  those 
acts — objections  which  were  industriously  circulated 
throughout  the  state  to  foment  the  elements  of  faction. 
Beyond  all  doubt,  at  that  moment,  was  produced  the  sen 
timent  which  has  led  to  the  unanimous  vote  to  abolish  the 
Council.  The  Legislature  had  exerted  themselves  in  the 
public  defence  ;  and  the  object  of  these  objections  was  to 
impress  the  public  mind  with  a  belief  that  there  repre 
sentatives  were  treading  under  foot  the  laws  and  constitu 
tion  of  their  country.  The  public  voice  on  that  occasion 
was  open  and  decided  ;  and  it  has  ever  since  continued  t& 
set  in  a  current  wide  and  deep  against  the  Council.  ID 
making  these  remarks,  I  disclaim  all  personal  allusions  to 
the  author  of  those  objections.  I  entertain  for  him  the 
highest  respect.  As  a  judicial  officer,  he  is  entitled  to 
great  consideration,  and  I  should  esteem  his  loss  from  the 
situation  which  he  fills,  as  a  public  calamity. 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  again  repeated  his  regret  that  this 
d'rseussiion  had  been  called  forth,  as  the  constitution  of 
our  judiciary  is  to  be  reviewed.  But  he  could  D;ot  con 
sent,  in  abolishing  the  Council,  to  shed  tears  over  its  ru 
ins,  or  pass  an  eulogy  on  i£s  character.  By  doing  this, 
and  by  the  course  of  some  gentlemen's  arguments,  we  are 
mourning  over  our  own  acts,  and  preparing  the  public  to 
distrust  our  sincerity.  We  ourselves  are  uoderminiug 
what  we  ourselves  have  done. 

"  To  return  to  the  argument — That  legislative  bodies 
are  subject  to  passion,  and  sometimes  to  improper  influ 
ence  is  not  to  be  denied.-  Their  acts  are  frequently  so 
detrimental  to  the  public  interest,  that  the  united  voice  of 
the  people,  calls  for  their  repeal — a  striking  proof,  if  proof 
were  necessary— that  legislators  are  but  men,  subject  to 
ajl  the  infirmities  and  frailties  of  our  nature.  The  cases 
cited  by  the  gentleman  from  Dutchess,  (Mr.  Talhnadge) 
a.re  strong  and  direct  in  point.  They  show,  that  the  repre 
sentatives  of  the  people  do  sometimes  err.  They  show 
also  the  necessity  of  preserving  a  controlling  power. 
And  what  is  the  consequence  of  placing  such  a  power, 
upon  the  footing  recommended,  by  the  report  of  the  com 
mittee  ?  It  may  suspend  for  a  time  the  operations  of  the 
Legislature.  It  may  prevent  the  passage  of  a  bad  law, 
bn.t  never  can  defeat  the  passage  of  a  good  one..  If  a  good 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  155 

law  be  returned  with  objections,  it  will  come  before  the 
people,  they  will  pronounce  upon  it,  and  return  represen 
tatives,  who  will  insist  upon  its  passage.  If  it  be  a  bad 
one,  the  revisory  power  will  be  justified;  delay,  there 
fore,  for  the  most  part,  will  be  the  only  consequence  of 
the  check,  and  that  will  be  followed,  by  all  the  benefits 
of  further  discussion,  and  a  full  understanding  of  the  sub 
ject.  But  the  advantages  of  such  a  power,  are  not  con 
fined  to  its  exercise.  I  concur  with  my  honorable  friend 
from  Oneida,  (Judge  Platt)  as  to  its  silent  effect.  The  ad 
vantages  arising  from  its  silent  and  unseen  operation,  arc 
doubtless  greater  than  those  arising  from  an  exercise  of 
the  power,  A  bare  majority  is  not  always  an  indication 
of  honesty,  ct  that  a  favorite  measure  is  correct.  Great 
weight  of  character  and  powerful  talents  are  often  embod 
ied  in  the  minority.  Many  laws  pass  fey  a  bare  laajord 
fy  ;  but  when  there  is  a  qualified  negative  upon  the  acts 
of  the  Legislature,  the  gentlemen  of  the  majority,  aware 
of  this  power,  may  be  restrained  from  passing  many  im 
proper  bills.  I  have  no  doubt  but  considerations  of  this 
kind  have  influenced  the  conduct  of  legislators  for  years 
past.  In  every  point  of  view,  whether  from  our  own  ex 
perience  or  the  experience  of  other  states,  we  discover 
this  liaV.lity  of  legislators  to«.ct  hastily  and  inconsider 
ately.  The  judgments  of  most  reflecting  men  unite  in 
the  expediency  of  some  check  like  that  proposed  by  the 
committee  ;  and  when  it  can  be  productive  of  no  other 
effect  than  to  suspend  the  passage  of  a  bill,  and  thereby 
^nable  the  people  to  express  their  will  upon  the  subject,  it 
Is  to  me,  sir,  matter  of  surprise,  that  so  much  hostility 
should  be  shown  to  the  reports  of  the  committee. 

;<  But,  sir,  the  prevention  of  party  legislation  is  not  the 
•only,  nor  ihe  most  important  reason,  why  we  are  dispos- 
•ed  to  give  this  power  to  the  executive.  Our  government 
is  divided  into  separate  and  distinct  departments— the  ex 
ecutive,  judicial,  and  legislative.  And  it  is  indispensable 
to  the  preservation  of  the  system  that  each  of  these  de 
partments  should  be  preserved  in  its  proper  sphere  from 
the  encroachments  of  the  others.  It  is  objected,  however, 
lo  vesting  the  power  in  the  hands  of  a  single  individual, 
on  account  of  the  liability  of  man  to  the  abuse  of  power, 
But  an  instance  of  the  abuse  of  power  thus  confided,  has 
never  existed,  where  it  did  not  defeat  the  very  object  for 
which  it  was  abused. 

"Distinct  branches  are  not  only  necessary  to  the  exist 
ence  of  government,  but  when  you  have  prescribed  them. 


150  THE  LIFE  OF 

it  is  necessary  that  you  should  make  them  in  a  great  cfe- 
grce,  independent  of  each  other.  No  government  can  be 
so  formed  a>  to  malic  them  entirely  separate  ;  but  it  ha& 
been  the  study  of  the  wisest  and  best  men,  to  invent  a 
plan,  by  which  they  might  be  rendered  as  independent  of 
each  other  as  the  nature  of  government  would  admit.  The 
legislative  department  is  by  far  the  strongest,  and  is  con 
stantly  inclined  to  encroach  upon  the  weaker  branches  of 
government,  and  upon  individual  rights.  This  arises 
from  a  variety  of  causes.  In  the  first  place,  the  powers 
of  that  department  are  more  extensive  and  undefinable 
than  those  of  any  other,  which  gives  its  members  an  exal 
ted  idea  of  their  superiority.  They  are  the  representatives 
of  the  people,  from  which  circumstance,  they  think  they 
possess,  and  of  right  ought  to  possess,  all  the  powers  of 
the  people.  This  is  natural  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  the 
consequences  that  may  follow. 

"  This  is  not  all—they  hold  the  purse  strings  of  the 
state;  and  every  member  of  all  the  branches  of  the  gov 
ernment  is  dependent  on  them  for  his  subsistence.  You 
have  been  told,  and  correctly  told,  that  those  who  feed 
men,  and  enjoy  the  privilege  of  dispensing  the  public 
bounty,  will  in  a  greater  or  less  decree  influence  and  con 
trol  them.  Is  it  unreasonable,  or  improbable,  to  suppose, 
that  power,  thus  constituted,  should  have  a  tendency  to 
exert  itself,  for  purposes  not  congenial  with  the  true"  in 
terests  of  the  other  branches  of  government?  The  gen 
tleman  from  Duichess,  (Mr.  Tallmadge.)  referred  to  seme 
striking  illustrations  of  the  conduct  of  legislative  bodies, 
in  this  particular,  which  show  that  power  thus  vested  is 
too  frequently  abused.  The  case  of  Pennsylvania  is  en 
titled  to  our  serious  consideration.  In  1783  they  provid 
ed  a  board  of  censors  to  examine  into  the  proceedings  of 
their  Legislature.  Those  censors,  though  some  of  them 
had  taken  part  in  the  proceedings  of  that  body  for  years, 
pointed  out  and  reported  a  long  list  of  legislative  infrac 
tions  of  the  constitution.  In  1790,  a  Convention  \vas  cal 
led,  which  formed  a  new  constitution.  That  body,  after 
full  and  deliberate  discussion,  inserted  in  their  constitu 
tion  that  very  article  which  has  been  reported  as  worthy 
of  a  place  in  ours.  That  Convention  was  composed  of  the 
wisest  and  best  men  in  the  state,  many  of  whom  assisted 
in  forming  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  con 
tained  Miillin,  M'Kean,  Addison,  Gallatin,  and  a  long 
list  of  other  statesmen,  distinguished  for  their  talents, 
wisdom,  and  experience.  The  people  of  Pennsylvania, 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  157 

3.1  the  adoption  of  their  first  constitution,  did  not  believe 
in  the  principle  for  which  I  am  contending;  but  experi 
ence  soon  taught  them  that  they  were  wrong.  The  check 
proposed  in  1790  was  adopted,  and  the  Legislature  has 
since  been  kept  in  the  line  of  their  duty.  In  my  view, 
the  conduct  of  Pennsylvania  affords  the  strongest  testi 
mony  in  favor  of  adopting  the  course  recommended  by 
the  committee  ;  and  I  cannot  but  believe,  that  if  the  pro 
position  of  the  gentleman  from  Dutchess,  (Mr.  Livings 
ton)  should  prevail,  New  York,  would  experience  the 
same  evils,  and  be  compelled  to  resort  to  the  same  meas 
ures,  to  get  rid  of  the  experiment. 

"  The  gentleman  from  Dutchess,  (Mr.  Livingston)  has 
referred  us  to  Virginia,  and  descanted  on  the  number, 
wisdom,  and  integrity  of  their  statesmen.  Mr*  Van  Bu- 
ren  would  assent  cheerfully  to  all  he  had  said  upon  that 
point.  In  that  number  was  included  the  political  father 
of  the  state,  Mr.  Jefferson.  No  man  had  more  experience 
ia  the  government  of  that  state  ;  no  one  had  more  fear 
lessly  pointed  out  the  defects  of  their  constitution.  Un 
fortunately,  it  imposes  no  check  upon  the  legislative  pow 
er;  their  Governor  is  elected  by  the  Legislature,  and  of 
course  is  but  a  creature  of  that  body.  And,  sir,  (said  Mr. 
Van  Buren)  at  this  moment  it  is  a  source  of  regret  to  the 
best  statesmen  of  Virginia,  that  they  have  no  check.  Mr, 
Jefferson,  in  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  expresses  himself 
thus  : — 

"  '  All  the  powers  of  government,  legislative,  executive, 
and  judiciary,  result  to  the  legislative  body.  The  con 
centrating  these  in  the  same  hands  is  precisely  the  defini 
tion  of  despotic  government.  It  will  be  no  alleviation 
that  these  powers  will  be  exercised  by  a  plurality  of  hands, 
and  not  by  a  single  one.  One  hundred  and  seventy-three 
despots  would  surely  be  as  oppressive  as  one.  Let  those 
who  doubt  it  turn  their  eyes  on  the  republic  of  Venice. 
As  little  will  it  avail  us  that  they  are  chosen  by  ourselves. 
An  elective  despotism  was  not  the  government  we  fought 
for  ;  but  one  which  should  not  only  be  founded  on  free 
principles,  but  in  which  the  powers  of  government  should 
be  so  divided  and  balanced  among  several  bodies  of  magis 
tracy,  as  that  no  one  could  transcend  their  legal  limits, 
without  being  effectually  checked  and  restrained  by  the 
others.  For  this  reason,  that  Convention  which  passed 
the  ordinance  of  government,  laid  its  foundation  on  this 

14 


158  THE  LIFE  OF 

basis,  lhal  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  de 
partments  should  be  separate  and  distinct,  so  that  no  per 
son  should  exercise  the  powers  of  more  than  one  of  them 
at  the  same  time.  But  no  barrier  was  provided  between 
these  several  powers.  The  judiciary  and  executive 
members  were  left  dependent  on  the  legislative  for  their 
subsistence  in  office,  and  some  of  them  for  their  continu 
ance  in  it.  If  therefore  the  Legislature  assume  executive- 
and  judiciary  powers,  no  opposition  is  likely  to  be  made  ; 
nor  if  made  can  be  effectual  ;  because  in  that  case,  they 
may  put  their  proceedings  into  the  form  of  an  act  of  as 
sembly,  which  will  render  them  obligatory  on  the  other 
branches.  They  have  accordingly  -in  many  instances  de 
cided  rights  which  shonld  have  been  left  to  judiciary 
controversy  ;  and  the  direction  of  the  executive,  during 
the  whole  time  of  their  session^  is  becoming  habitual  and 
familiar*' 

"  Here,  sir,  we  have  the  opinion  and  the  complaints  of 
this  great  man.  The  Legislature  had  usurped  the  power 
of  aH  the  departments.  The  people  had  declared  that 
those  departments  should  be  independent,  but  they  deceiv 
ed  themselves  by  trusting  to  parchment  regulations.  And 
the  gentleman  from  Dutchess,  (Mr.  Livingston)  wishes 
us  to  go  on,  and  in  the  same  manner  invest  the  Legisla 
ture  with  all  the  powers  of  the  people. 

"But  this  is  not  all.  That  there  may  be  no  mistake  in- 
the  views  of  this  distinguished  man,  I  think  it  proper  to 
state,  that  in  1783,  it  was  contemplated  to  call  a  Conven 
tion  to  amend  their  constitution.  Mr.  Jefferson,  with  pa 
ternal  solicitude  for  the  interests  of  the  state,  framed  a 
constitution,  to  be  submitted  to  that  body.  It  may  be 
found  in  the  appendix  to  the  Notes  on  Virginia.  It  con 
tains  a  provision,  declaring  that  the  Governor,  two  Coun 
cilors  of  the  state,  and  a  Judge  of  each  of  the  Superior 
Courts,  should  be  a  council  to  revise  all  bills  passed  by 
the  Legislature,  and  that  a  bill  when  returned  by  the 
Council  should  not  become  a  law  unless  two-thirds  of 
each  house  should  concur  in  its  passage.  Here,  then,  we 
have  his  deliberate  opinion,  that  an  efficient  check  is  ne 
cessary  upon  the  legislative  power.  And  I  have  no 
doubt  that  should  there  ever  be  a  Convention  in  Virginia 
to  revise  their  constitution,  such  a  provision  would  be  one 
of  the  first  to  be  adopted.  But  it  is  undeniably  true,  and 
so  admitted  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  Virginia  is  emphatical- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  159 

ly  the  land  of  steady  habits,  and  although  there  are  many 
detects  acknowledged  to  exist  in  their  constitution,  still 
their  reluctance  to  introduce  a  change,  has  hitherto  pre~ 
vented  the  call  of  a  Convention. 

';  The  gentleman  from  Westchesier,  (Mr.  Jay)  has  pre 
sented  a  long  list  of  instances,  where  the  Legislature  have 
encroached  upon  the  executive,  by  concurrent  resolutions; 
a  striking  proof  of  the  truth  of  ray  remarks.  And,  sir,  if 
you  provide  no  check,  the  Legislature  can  go  on  to  strip 
the  executive  of  all  his  power.  Then  is  it  not  necessary, 
for  the  well  being  of  government,  to  vest  a  salutary  check 
in  some  other  department  I  A  contrary  doctrine,  I  am 
satisfied,  is  dangerous  and  absurd.  In  the  constitution  of 
the  United  Stales,  and  in  several  of  the  other  states,  you 
have  a  provision  precisely  similar  to  that  for  which  we 
are  now  contending.  Although  amendments  to  the  feder 
al  constitution  have  been  proposed  from  almost  every 
part  of  the  Union,  still  against  that  provision  we  have 
never  heard  a  murmur.  That  provision  was  avowedly 
copied  from  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts,  where  its 
utility  has  never  been  questioned.  Maine  lived  under  it 
for  nearly  forty  years,  and  on  being  separated  into  an  in 
dependent  state,  has  adopted  the  same  provision.  The 
iate  Convention  in  Massachusetts  affords  one  of  the  strong 
est  evidences  that  a  patriotic  people  can  give,  in  favor  of 
this  provision.  This  Convention  was  composed  of  their 
wisest  and  best  men,  selected  without  reference  to  party, 
and  embracing  almost  the  whole  body  of  the  talents  of 
that  state.  They  were  two  months  in  session,  and  in  the 
course  of  all  their  debates,  not  a  word  of  complaint  was 
uttered  against  this  part  of  the  constitution. 

"  Sir,  such  is  the  superior  force  and  influence  of  legisla 
tive  power — such  is  the  reverence  and  regard  with  which  . 
it  is  looked  up  to,  that  no  man  in  the  community  will  have 
ihe  temerity,  on  ordinary  occasions,  to  resist  its  acts,  or 
check  its  proceedings.  I  cannot  illustrate  this  position 
more  strongly  than  by  a  reference  to  the  constitution  of 
England.  There  the  executive  is  a  branch  of  the  Legis 
lature,  and  has  an  absolute  negative.  Surrounded  as  he 
is  with  prerogative,  and  placed  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  people,  yet  since  the  year  1692,  no  objection  has  been 
made  by  the  king  of  Great  Britain  to  any  bill  presented 
for  his  approbation.  Rather  than  produce  the  excitement 
and  irritation  which,  even  there,  would  result  from  the 
rejection  of  a  bill  passed  by  the  parliament,  he  has  resorted 
to  means  which  have  degraded  the  government,  and  dis- 


160  THE  LIFE  OF 

honored  the  nation,  to  prevent  the  passage  of  bills  which 
he  should  feel  it  his  duty  to  reject.  In  the  declaration  of 
independence,  in  the  catalogue  of  wrongs  under  which 
o.ur  fathers  had  been  suffering,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
was,  that  the  king  had  exercised  his  prerogative,  and  had 
refused  his  sanction  to  salutary  laws.  Gentlemen  may 
therefore  rest  satisfied,  that  very  little  danger  is  to  be  ap 
prehended  on  this  subject.  There  is,  besides,  a  proposi 
tion  to  reduce  the  term  of  service  of  the  Governor,  from 
three  years  to  one.  Is  it  possible,  then,  that  when  thus 
made  immediately  responsible  to  the  people,  there  can 
exist  any  well  founded  causes  of  alarm  ? 

"  I  hope,  sir,  we  shall  adopt  the  report  of  the  committee, 
for  these,  and  many  other  reasons  which  I  shall  not  tire 
the  patience  of  the  committee  by  detailing.  It  is  a  com 
mon  remark,  that  in  alterations  in  government,  people  are 
apt  to  go  from  one  extreme  to  the  other.  And,  sir,  are 
not  gentlemen  now  going  upon  extremes?  We  have 
abolished  the  Council  of  revision,  and  weakened  the  re 
visory  power,  and  by  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gen 
tleman  from  Dutchess,  (Mr.  Livingston)  we  destroy  it  al 
together.  True,  the  Governor  can  return  a  bill  with  his 
objections.  But  what  will  it  avail?  A  bare  majority 
can  pass  the  bill  notwithstanding,  and  as  his  reasons  will 
probably  be  those  which  the  Legislature  have  already  con 
sidered,  can  it  be  believed,  sir,  that  his  recommendation 
will  have  any  effect?  Can  it  be  supposed  for  a  moment 
fchat  the  members  of  the  Legislature  would  to-day  record 
their  names  on  the  journals  in  one  way,  and  to-morrow 
record  them  in  a  different  way  ?  And  will  not  the  Gov 
ernor  be  restrained  from  exercising  that  power,  when  he- 
knows  it  is  vain  and  idle? 

"  We  have  heretofore  had  the  revisory  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  judiciary  and  executive  united  ;  and  now,, 
because  the  people  call  for  its  separation,  shall  we  destroy 
it  altogether  ?  Shall  we  goto  the  other  extreme,  ana* 
have  no  restriction  whatever?  I  cannot  perceive  the  ben 
efits  to  result  from  such  a  course  ;  I  am  persuaded  of  its 
impropriety.  We  have  decided  on  abolishing  the  Coun 
cil  of  revision,  in  a  manner  that  will  redound  to  our  cre 
dit  ;  and  I  had  flattered  myself  from  the  promptness  with 
which  that  decision  was  made,  that  the  passage  of  the 
amendment  would  have  followed  without  opposition. 
Let  us  not  agitate  and  excite  the  fears  of  the  community. 
They  have  expected  an  alteration  of  the  legislative  check, 
but  not  an  abandonment  of  the  principle.  A  portion  of 


x    MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  161 

ilie  people  of  this  state,  believe  the  Council  of  revision  to 
have  been  wisely  instituted,  and  of  great  practical  utility. 
There  are  others,  who  think  a  change  is  necessary,  and 
that  the  judiciary  should  have  no  connection  with  the  oth 
er  branches  of  government.  Adopt  the  proposition  of  the 
gentleman  from  Dutchess,  and  what  will  be  the  conse 
quence  ?  You  alarm  those  two  great  bodies  of  our  citi 
zens,  and  hazard  the  rejection  of  your  proceedings.  If 
we  would  inspire  the  people  with  confidence  in  our  acts 
— if  we  would  ensure  their  approbation — if  we  would  ef 
fect  those  wise  and  salutary  amendments  which  the  pub 
lic  voice  and  the  public  interest  demand,  we  should  be 
ware  of  vibrating  to  extremes,  and  of  introducing  an  in 
novation  so  hazardous  and  unexpected,  as  that  which  we 
are  discussing."* 

The  article,  as  reported  by  the  committee  and 
sustained  by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was  finally  adopted 
into  the  constitution. 

Analagous  to  the  question  involved  in  the  above 
article,  was  that  which  arose  on  the  term  for  which 
the  Governor  should  be  elected.  A  part  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  remarks  on  this  point  were  as  follows  : 

"  As  we  increase  the  power  of  the  executive,  we  should 
also  increase  the  responsibility  of  the  Governor.  We 
should  bring  him  more  frequently  before  the  people.  His 
conflicts,  if  any,  will  not  be  with  the  Legislature.  He 
was  rendered  by  the  provision  now  proposed,  utterly  and 
entirely  independent  of  the  Legislature.  Of  the  people 
he  did  not  think  he  should  be  rendered  so  independent. 
In  the  exercise  of  the  veto,  which  will  only  take  place  on 
important  occasions,  he  will  be  supported,  if  he  should 
have  acted  manifestly  for  the  public  good.  He  had  not 
experienced  the  evils  of  triennial  elections;  but  as  we 
had  vastly  increased  the  power  of  the  Governor,  a  strong 
desire  is  manifested  to  abridge  his  term,  and  in  this  senti 
ment  he  concurred.  But  how  abridge  it  ?  We  wish  the 

*  Carter  and  Stone's  Reports  of  the  New  York  Convention, 
page  70. 


1(52  THE  LIFE  OB' 

people  to  have  an  opportunity  of  testing  their  Governors 
conduct,  not  by  the  feelings  of  temporary  excitements,  but 
by  that  sober  second  thought,  which  is  never  wrong.  Can 
that  be  etfected  if  you  abridge  the  term  to  one  year  ?  No, 
sir:  it  is  necessary  that  his  power  exist  long  enough  to 
survive  that  temporary  excitement,  which  a  measure  of 
public  importance  must  occasion,  and  to  enable  the  peo 
ple  to  detect  the  fallacy  with  which  the  acls  of  govern 
ment  may  be  veiled  as  to  their  real  motives.  Can  a  fail- 
judgment  of  motives,  or  of  the  effect  of  measures,  he  made 
in  a  few  months  ?  No,  sir — even  a  term  longer  than  three 
years,  must  sometimes  be  necessary  to  enable  us  to  judge 
of  the  effect  of  measures.  But  we  must  not  go  into  ex 
tremes,  or  we  shall  rouse  the  jealousies  of  the  people,  in 
weakening  the  responsibility  to  them,  of  their  public  offi 
cers.  Let  us  test  the  question  by  reason.  You  have  a 
state  and  population,  whose  concerns  bear  a  strong  analo 
gy  to  the  interests  of  the  Union.  Can  a  Governor,  in  a 
term  of  one  year,  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  in 
terests,  the  wants,  and  condition  of  this  great  state  ? 
There  was  one  remark  he  made  with  groat  deference — in 
all  the  eastern  states,  the  tenure  of  the  chief  magistrate  is 
for  only  one  year;  and  the  majority  of  this  Convention 
have  imbibed  their  notions  under  those  constitutions,  and 
naturally  consider  them  wise.  Others,  who  have  lived 
under  the  constitution  of  this  state,  have  preferred,  as  ho 
had  been  accustomed  to  do,  the  tenure  of  three  years  ; 
and  he  asked,  if  there  was  not  some  respect,  some  comity 
due,  to  those  who  have  viewed  this,  among  other  provis 
ions  of  our  constitution,  with  reverence.  For  these  rea 
sons  he  hoped  the  blank  would  be  filled  with  two  years."* 

On  the  17th  of  September,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  as 
chairman  o,f  the  committee  on  the  appointing  pow 
er,  presented  an  elaborate  report,  the  result  of 
great  consideration  and  reflection  on  the  part  of 
the  committee.  The  principles  of  this  report  were 
defended  and  explained  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  se 
veral  occasions,  but  as  his  remarks,  on  this  subject 
do  not  involve  many  important  general  views,  they 

*  Debates  in  New  York  Convention,  page  147. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

are  not  here  inserted.  The  proposition  of  the 
committee,  with  some  modification,  was  finally 
adopted.  The  Council  of  appointment  was  abol 
ished  ;  the  substitutes  adopted,  appear  in  the  con 
stitution  of  that  state.* 

On  the  proposition  of  prefixing  to  the  constitu- 
lion  a  bill  of  rights,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  averse  to 
it :  "A  bill  of  rights,  Sir,"  said  he  "  is  a  privilege, 
according  to  the  original  signification  of  it:  a  con 
cession,  extorted  from  the  king  in  favor  of  popular 
liberty.  But  how  does  that  apply  here  ?"  He  then 
went  into  a  history  of  the  origin  of  bills  of  right  in 
England,  and  concluded  by  expressing  a  wish  that, 
as  a  bill  of  rights,  this  might  not  prevail  ;  but  that 
any  provision  in  it,  which  might  be  deemed  salu 
tary,  should  be  engrafted  upon  the  constitution. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  of  amending  the 
constitution  was  to  extend  the  right  of  suffrage  ; 
and  the  leading  discussions  in  the  Convention  re 
lated  to  that  topic.  The  committee  to  whom  that 
subject  was  referred^proposed  a  residence  of  six 
months  in  thes  tate,  and  having  paid^taxes,  or  work 
ed  on  the  highways,  or  done  military  duty,  as  the 
qualification  of  an  elector.  Judge  Spencer  pro 
posed  as  an  amendment,  to  require,  as  a  qualifica 
tion  to  vote  for  Senators,  a  freehold  estate  of  the 
value  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Mr.  Van 
Buren  strenuously  opposed  this  amendment,  and 
the  following  extracts  from  his  speech  on  this  oc 
casion,  will  show  his  general  views  with  regard  to 

*  See  an  able  speech  by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  explaining  the  report 
of  the  committee,  in  the  Debates  of  the  Convention,  page  296. 


)64  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  propriety  of  restricting  the  elective  franchise  to 
freeholders. 

"  MR.  Van  Buren,  said  he  was  opposed  to  the  amend 
ment  under  consideration,  offered  by  the  gentleman  from. 
Albany,  (Chief  Justice  Spencer;)  and  he  would  beg  the 
indulgence  of  the  committee,  for  a  short  time,  while  he 
should  attempt  to  explain  the  reasons,  which,  in  his  opin 
ion,  required  its  rejection.  The  extreme  importance 
which  the  honorable  mover  had  attached  to  the  subject, 
and  the  sombre  and  frightful  picture  which  had  been 
drawn  by  his  colleague,  (the  Chancellor,)  of  the  alarming 
consequences,  which  would  result  from  the  adoption  of  a 
course,  different  from  trie  one  recommended,  rendered  it  a 
duty,  which  those,  who  entertained  a  contrary  opinion, 
owed  to  themselves  and  their  constituents,  to  explain  the. 
motives  which  governed  them.  If  a  stranger  had  heard 
the  discussions  on  this  subject,  and  had  been  acquainted 
with  the  character  of  our  people,  and  the  character  and 
standing  of  those,  who  find  it  their  duty  to  oppose  this 
measure,  he  might  well  have  supposed,  that  we  were  on 
the  point  of  prostrating  with  lawless  violence,  one  of  the 
fairest  and  firmest  pillars  of  the  government,  and  of  intro 
ducing  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  constitution,  a  mob  or  a 
rabble,  violent  and  disorganizing,  as  were  the  Jacobins  of 
France  ;  and  furious  and  visionary  as  the  radicals  of  Eng 
land,  are,  by  some  gentlemen,  supposed  to  be.  The  hon 
orable  gentleman  from  Albany,  (the  Chancellor,)  tells  us, 
that  if  we  send  the  constitution  to  the  people,  without 
the  provision,  contemplated  by  the  proposition  now  under 
consideration,  it  will  meet  with  the  scorn  of  the  wise,  and 
be  hailed  with  exultation  by  the  vicious  and  the  profli 
gate.  He  entertained,  he  said,  a  high  personal  respect  for 
the  mover  of  this  amendment,  and  also  for  his  learned 
colleague,  who  had  so  eloquently  and  pathetically  descri 
bed  to  them  the  many  evils  and  miseries  which  its  rejec 
tion  would  occasion  ;  he  declared  his  entire  conviction  of 
his  sincerity  in  what  he  had  uttered,  his  simplicity  of 
character,  he  had  himself  so  feelingly  described,  his  known 
candor  and  purity  of  character  would  forbid  any  one  to 
doubt,  that  he  spoke  the  sentiments  of  his  heart.  But  be 
lieving  as  he  did,  that  those  fears  and  apprehensions  were 
wholly  without  foundation,  it  could  not  be  expected,  that 
he  would  suffer  them  to  govern  his  conduct. 

•'•'Permit  me  to  ask,  (said  Mr.  Van  Buren)   where  are 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  165 

the  wise  men  to  be  found,  who  it  is  supposed  would  pas? 
a  censure  so  severe  on  our  conduct  1  Did  the  honorable 
crentleman  allude  to  the  wise  men  of  the  east?  Through 
out  their  dominions,  not  a  constitution  is  to  be  found,  con 
taining  in  form  or  substance,  the  provision  contemplated 
bv  the  amendment.  Did  he  allude  to  their  descendants 
in  the  west  ?  In  Ohio,  and  partially  in  Illinois  and  in  In 
diana  ?  Their  constitutions  were  in  this  particular  as 
ours  would  be,  if  this  amendment  was  adopted.  Did  he 
allude  to  those  of  the  south?  Tn  none  of  their  constitu 
tions,  nor  in  those  of  any  state  in  the  Union,  (except 
North  Carolina.)  was  such  a  provisioft  as  that  proposed  by 
the  amendment  to  be  found.  In  the  constitution  of  the 
Union,  too,  which  has  been  in  operation  long  enough  to 
test  the  correctness  and  soundness  of  its  principles,  there 
was  no  excessive  freehold  representation.  That  constitu 
tion  was  now  the  boast  and  pride  of  the  American  people, 
and  the  admiration  of  the  world.  He  presumed  there 
was  not  an  individual  in  that  committee,  who  would 
question  the  sufficiency  of  the  General  Government,  for 
the  protection  of  life,  liberty  and  property.  Under  this 
government,  and  the  several  state  constitutions,  the  states 
had  been,  and  continued  to  be,  rapidly  advancing  in  pub 
lic  improvements,  and  the  nation  was  in  the  full  fruition 
of  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty;  everyone 
was  sittin^  quietly  and  safely  under  his  own  vine  and  fig 
tree,  and  "every  one  enjoying,  without  molestation,  the 
fruits  of  his  own  labor  and  industry. 

"  It  could  not,  therefore,  fail  to  strike  the  mind  of  every 
man,  that  the  great  alarm,  which  had  been  attempted  to 
be  excited  upon  this  subject,  was  entirely  imaginary— cer 
tainly  without  adequate  foundation.  Why,  then,  he 
would  ask,  had  this  appeal  been  made  to  the  fears  and  ap 
prehensions  of  the  committee? 

"In  the  grave  and  portentous  deductions,  which  the 
honorable  gentleman,  who  supported  the  amendment,  had 
drawn  from  the  rejection  of  the  amendment  under  con 
sideration,  the  question  raised  by  it,  had  been  in  a  great 
decree,  disregarded,  if  not  entirely  lost  sight  of.  1  ne 
committee  had  been  entertained  with  the  most  frightful 
conjectures,  on  subjects,  if  not  wholly,  certainly  in  a  great 
decree,  unconnected  with  the  object  of  the  amendment 
They  had  been  told  of  the  present  bad  character,  and 
worse  propensities  of  a  great  portion  of  their  present  popu 
lation—the  demoralizing  effects  of  great  manufacturm 
establishments,  which  might  or  might  not.  hereafter  grow 


166  THE  LIFE  OF 

up  among  us,  had  been  portrayed  in  the  darkest  colors — 
the  dissolute  and  abandoned  character  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  old  cities  of  Europe,  and  the  pro 
bability  of  similar  degeneracy  in  this  happy  land,  had  been 
represented  in  hideous  deformity;  and  all  the  powers  of 
eloquence,  and  the  inventions  of  imagination,  had  been 
enlisted,  to  present  to  our  view,  a  long  train  of  evils, 
which  would  follow,  from  extending  the  right  of  suffrage 
to  such  a  description  of  people.  And  all  this  had  been 
done,  to  procure  the  adoption  of  the  amendment  under 
consideration.  He  would  now  put  the  question  to  the  so 
ber  sense  of  the  committee,  and  to  the  highly  respectable 
and  venerable  gentlemen,  who  had  thought  proper  to 
press  these  matters  upon  them  in  this  stage  of  the  discus 
sion,  with  what  propriety  had  this  been  done  ?  Did  the 
amendment  raise  the  question,  whether  any,  and  what 
amount  of  property  should  be  a  requisite  qualification  for 
a  voter  ?  Whether  contributions  to  the  public  for  the  pro 
tection  of  property,  in  the  shape  of  taxes  shall  be  requir 
ed?  or  whether  personal  services,  either  in  the  public  de 
fence,  or  for  public  improvements,  should  be  deemed  suffi 
cient?  These, he  said,  were  questions  brought  into  view 
by  the  report  of  the  select  committee,  and  on  which,  they 
would  hereafter  have  to  act,  but  they  were  not  now  under 
discussion.  When  they  would  come  before  them,  then 
would  the  past,  the  present,  and  probable  future  character 
of  the  population  of  this  state,  be  proper  subjects  for  con 
sideration.  *  *  * 

"  There  were  two  words,  continued  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
which  had  come  into  common  use  with  our  revolutionary 
struggle;  words  which  contained  an  abridgement  of  our 
political  rights  ;  words  which,  at  that  day,  had  a  talisrnan- 
ic  effect ;  which  led  our  fathers  from  the  bosoms  of  their 
families  to  the  tented  field;  which  for  several  long  years 
of  toil  and  suffering,  had  kept  them  to  their  arms;  and 
which  finally  conducted  them  to  a  glorious  triumph. 
They  were  '  TAXATION  and  REPRESENTATION  ;'  nor  did 
they  lose  their  influence  with  the  close  of  that  struggle. 
They  were  never  heard  in  our  halls  of  legislation,  with 
out  bringing  to  our  recollections  the  consecrated  feelings 
of  those  who  won  our  liberties,  or  without  reminding  us 
of  every  thing  that  was  sacred  in  principle.  *  *  * 

"  Apply,  said  he,  for  a  moment,  the  principles  they  in 
culcate  to  the  question  under  consideration,  and  let  its 
merits  be  thereby  tested.  Are  those  of  your  citizens  re 
presented,  whose  voices  are  never  heard  in  your  Senate  ? 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  167 

Are  these  citizens  iu  any  degree  represented  or  heard,  in 
the  formation  of  your  courts  of  justice,  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest  ?  Was,  then,  representation  in  one  branch  ot" 
the  Legislature,  which  by  itself  can  do  nothing — which, 
instead  of  securing  to  them  the  blessings  of  legislation,  on 
ly  enables  them  to  prevent  it  as  an  evil,  any  thing  more 
than  a  shadow?  Was  it  not  emphatically  'keeping  the 
word  of  promise  to  the  ear,  and  breaking  it  to  the  hope  V 
Was  it  not  even  less  than  the  virtual  representation, 
with  which  our  fathers  were  attempted  to  be  appeased  by 
their  oppressors  ?  It  was  even  so;  and  if  so,  could  they, 
as  long  as  this  distinction  was  retained,  hold  up  their 
heads,  and,  without  blushing,  pretend  to  be  the  advocates 
for  that  special  canon  of  political  rights,  that  taxation 
and  representation  were,  and  ever  should  be,  indissoluble? 
He  thought  not. 

"In  whose  name,  and  for  whose  benefit,  he  iuquiredf 
were  they  called  upon  to  clisappoint  the  just  expectations 
of  their  constituents,  and  to  persevere  in  what  he  could 
not  but  regard  as  a  violation  of  principle  1  It  was  in  the 
name,  and  for  the  security  of  ' farmers,'  that  they  were 
called  upon  to  adopt  this  measure.  This,  he  said,  was,, 
indeed,  acting  in  an  imposing  name  ;  and  they  who  used 
it,  knew  full  well  that  it  was  so.  It  was,  continued  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  the  boast,  the  pride,  and  the  security  of  this 
nation,  that  she  had  in  her  bosom  a  body  of  men  who,  for 
sobriety,  integrity,  industry,  and  patriotism,  were  une 
qualled  by  the  cultivators  of  the  earth  in  any  part  of  the 
known  world  ;  nay,  more,  to  compare  them  with  the  men- 
of  similar  pursuits  in  other  countries,  was  to  degrade 
them.  And  woful  must  be  our  degeneracy,  before  any 
thing  which  might  be  supposed  to  affect  the  interests  of 
the  farmers  of  this  country,  could  be  listened  to  with  in 
difference  by  those  who  governed  us. 

"He  could  not,  he  said,  yield  to  any  man  in  respect  for 
this  invaluable  class  of  our  citizens,  nor  in  zeal  for  their 
support ;  but  how  did  this  matter  stand  ?  inquired  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  Was  the  allegation  that  they  were  viola 
ting  the  wishes,  and  tampering  with  the  security  of  the 
farmers,  founded  in  fact,  or  was  it  merely  colorable? 
Who,  he  asked,  had  hitherto  constituted  a  majority  of 
the  voters  of  the  slate?  The  farmers— who  had  called 
for,  and  insisted  upon  the  convention.  Farmers  and 
freeholders  !  Who  passed  the  law  admitting  those,  who 
were  not  electors,  to  a  free  participation  in  the  decision  of 
the  question  of  Convention  or  No  Convention^  and  also  iu 


168  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  choice  of  delegates  to  that  body.  A  Legislature,  a 
majority  of  whom  were  farmers,  and  probably  every  one 
of  them  freeholders,  of  the  value  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  and  upwards  !  The  farmers  of  this  state  had,  he 
said,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  admitted  those  who 
were  not  freeholders,  to  a  full  participation  with  them 
selves  in  every  stage,  of  this  great  effort  to  amend  our 
constitution,  and  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  peo 
ple :  could  he,  then,  ought  he,  to  be  told,  that  they  would 
be  disappointed  in  their  expectations,  when  they  found 
that  by  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  as  amended,  a 
great  portion  of  their  fellow  citizens  were  enfranchised, 
and  released,  from  fetters  which  they  themselves  had  done 
all  in  their  power  to  loosen?  He  did  not  believe  it. — 
Again,  inquired  Mr.  Van  Buren,  who  are  we,  that  have 
been  chosen  to  perform  this  great,  and  he  could  not  but 
think,  good  work  ?  A  great  majority  of  us  are  practical 
farmers ;  all  freeholders,  and  of  no  small  amounts.  Were 
they  their  own  worst  enemies  ?  Could  they  be  suspected 
of  a  want  of  fidelity  to  the  freehold  interest?  No!  The 
farmers  had  looked  for  such  an  event ;  they  earnestly  de 
sired  it.  Whatever  ravages  the  possession  of  power 
might  have  made  in  the  breast  of  others,  they  at  least  had 
shown  that  they  could  'feel  power  without  forgetting 
ri^ht.'  If  any  thing,  (said  Mr.  Van  Buren,)  could  render 
this  invaluable  class  of  men  dearer  and  more  estimable 
than  they  were,  it  was  this  magnanimous  sacrifice  which 
they  had  made  on  the  altar  of  principle,  by  consenting  to 
admit  those  of  their  fellow  citizens,  who"  though  not  so 
highly  favored  as  themselves  by  fortune,  had  still  enough 
to  bind  them  to  their  country,  to  an  equal  participation  in 
the  blessings  of  a  free  government.  Thus,  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren  said  he  understood  their  wishes,  and  he  would  gov 
ern  himself  accordingly  ;  having  the  consolation  to  know, 
that  if  he  should  have  misunderstood  them,  they  would 
have  the  power  of  rescuing  themselves,  from  the  effects 
of  such  misapprehension,  by  rejecting  the  amendments, 
which  should  be  proposed  for  their  adoption. 

"  But  let  us,  said  he,  consider  this  subject  in  another 
and  different  point  of  view;  it  was  their  duty,  and  he  had 
no  doubt  it  was  their  wish,  to  satisfy  all,  so  that  their 
proceedings  might  meet  with  the  approbation  of  the  whole 
community;  it  was  his  desire  to  respect  the  wishes  and 
consult  the  interests  of  all ;  he  would  not  hamper  the 
rich  nor  tread  upon  the  poor,  but  would  respect  each  alike. 
He  would,  he  said,  submit  a  few  considerations  to  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

men  oi  property,  who  think  this  provision  necessary  for 
its  security,  and  in  doing  so,  he  would  speak  of  property 
in  general,  dropping  the  important  distinction  made  by 
the  amendment  offered,  between  real  and  personal  estate. 
Admitting  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the  distinction 
was  just,  and  wise,  and  necessary,  for  the  security  of  pro 
perty,  was  the  object  effected  by  the  present  regulation? 
He  thought  not;  property  was  not  now  represented  in  the 
Senate  to  the  extent  it  was  erroneously  supposed  to  be. 
To  represent  individual  property,  it  would  be  necessary 
that  each  individual  should  have  a  number  of  votes  iu 
some  degree  at  least,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  his 
property  ;  this  was  the  manner  in  which  property  was 
represented,  in  various  corporations  and  in  monied  insti 
tutions.  Suppose  in  any  such  institution  one  man  had 
one  hundred  shares,  another  one  share,  could  you  gravely 
tell  the  man  who  held  one  hundred  shares,  that  his  pro 
perty  was  represented  in  the  direction,  if  their  votes  were 
equal.  To  say  that  because  a  man  worth  millions,  as  is 
the  case  of  one  in  this  committee,  has  one  vote,  and  an 
other  citizen  worth  only  two  hundred  aiid  fifty  dollars  in 
real  estate,  has  one  vote  for  Senators,  that  therefore  their 
property  is  equally  represented  in  the  Senate,  is,  to  say 
the  least,  speaking  very  incorrectly  ;  it  is  literally  substi 
tuting  a  shadow  for  a  reality  ;  and  though  the  case  he  liad 
stated  by  the  way  of  illustration,  would  not  be  a  common 
one,  still  the  disparity  which  pervaded  the  whole  com 
munity,  was  sufficiently  great  to  render  his  argument  cor 
rect. 

"  If  to  this  it  was  answered,  as  it  had  been  by  the  gen 
tleman  from  Albany,  (Mr.  Van  Vechten,)  that  the  amount 
was  not  material ;  that  the  idea  of  their  representing  free 
holders  would  be  sufficient ;  his  reply  was,  that  this  pur 
pose  was  already  effected  by  the  constitution  as  it  stands. 
It  now  provides  that  the  Senators  shall  be  freeholders  > 
and  that  part  of  the  constitution  it  was  not  proposed  to 
alter.  There  was  no  objection  to  fixing  the  amount  of 
the  freehold  required  in  the  elected,  and  to  place  it  on  a 
respectable,  but  not  extravagant  footing.  If,  therefore,  an 
ideal  representation  of  property  was  of  any  value,  that 
object  was  fully  obtained  without  the  amendment.  But 
the  preservation  of  individual  property,  is  not  the  great 
object  of  having  it  represented  in  the  Senate. 

"When  the  people  of  this  state  shall  have  so  far  de 
generated  ;  when  the  principles  of  order  or  of  good  gov 
ernment  which  now  characterize  our  people,  and  afford 
15 


170  THE  LIFE  OK 

security  to  uur  institutions,  shall  have  so  far  given  way  to 
those  of  anarchy  and  violence,  as  to  lead  to  an  attack  on 
private  property,  or  an  agrarian  law  ;  to  which  allusion 
had  been  made  by  the  gentleman  from  Albany,  (Mr.  Kent,) 
or  by  an  attempt  to  throw  all  the  public  burthens  on  any 
particular  class  of  men  ;  then  all  constitutional  provisions 
will  be  idle  and  unavailing,  because  they  will  have  lost 
all  their  force  and  influence.  In  answer  to  the  apprehen 
sion  so  frequently  expressed,  that  unless  this  amendment 
prevails,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  all  the  taxes  being 
laid  on  the  real  estate,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state,  that 
there  is  no  more  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
than  there  will  be  in  ours,  if  the  amendment  fails,  to  pre 
vent  all  the  revenues  of  the  Union  from  being  raised  by 
direct  taxation.  And  was  such  a  fear  ever  entertained- 
for  the  General  Government  ?  How  is  it  possible  for  gen 
tlemen  to  suppose,  that  in  a  constitutional  regulation, 
under  which  all  the  states  are  enjoying  the  most  ample 
security  for  property,  an  individual  state  would  be  expos 
ed  to  danger?  *  *  * 

"  The  representation,  then,  of  property  in  the  Senatey 
under  the  existing  constitution,  was,  he  said,  as  it  respec 
ted  individual  estates,  wholly  delusive,  and  as  it  respected 
the  interest  of  property  in  the  different  sections  of  the  state 
so  flagrantly  unequal  as  to  dstroy  practical  advantage  to. 
property  from  a  representation  of  it,  and  not  only  so,  but 
made  it  infinitely  worse  than  if  property  was  not  profes 
sed  to  be  represented  at  all.  *  *  * 

"  And  what,  he  inquired,  had  been  its  practical  effects? 
had  they  been  such  as  to  afford  any  additional  security  to 
property  ?  had  the  members  of  the  Senate,  for  years  past, 
been  more  respectable  for  talents  or  integrity  ?  had  they 
shown  a  greater  regard  for  property,?  had  they  been  more 
vigilant  in  guarding  the  public  treasury  than  the  assem 
bly. 

"  The  Senate,  he  said,  was  the  only  legislative  body  in 
which  he  had  ever  had  the  honor  of  a  seat ;  and  he  had 
been  there  from  a  very  early  age — almost  all  his  political 
connexions  had  been  with  that  body — his  earliest  politi 
cal  recollections  were  associated  with  its  proceedings, 
and  he  had  had,  in  some  of  its  proceedings,  as  much  cause 
for  individual  gratification  as  could  well,  under  the  same 
circumstances,  fall  to  the  lot  of  any  man  ;  notwithstand 
ing  which,  and  also  the  strong  partiality  he  had  always 
felt  for  that  body,  he  could  not  say,  that  in  the  many 
years  he  was  there,  the  sentiment  never  occurred  to  him, 


MARTIN  VAN    BUREN.  171 

that  such  was  the  case.  On  the  contrary,  a  regard  to 
truth  constrained  him  to  say,  that  every  thing,  which  re 
garded  the  imposition  of  public  burdens,  and  the  disposi 
tion  of  public  property,  were  more  closely  looked  into, 
and  more  severely  scrutinized  by  the  Assembly  than  the 
Senate.  The  sense  of  immediate  responsibility  to  the 
people,  produced  more  effect  on  the  Assembly,  that  the 
consideration,  that  they  represented  those,  who  were  sup 
posed  principally  to  bear  the  burdens,  did  in  the  Senate  ; 
and  such,  he  conscientiously  believed,  would  always  be 
the  case.  He  asked  the  members  of  the  committee, 
whether  they  believed,  that  there  had  been  a  moment  for 
the  last  forty  years,  when  a  proposition  in  the  Assembly 
to  make  an  unjust  distinction  between  real  and  personal 
property,  in  the  imposition  of  public  burdens,  would  not 
have  been  hooted  out  of  that  body,  if  any  one  had  been 
found  mad  enough  to  have  dared  its  introduction  ?  Why, 
then,  he  asked,  alarm  ourselves  by  fear  for  the  future,, 
which  the  experience  of  the  past  had  demonstrated  to  be 
erroneous?  Why  disregard  the  admonitions  of  experi 
ence,  to  pursue  the  dubious  path  of  speculation  and  the 
ory  ? 

"  He  had  no  doubt  but  the  honorable  gentlemen  who 
had  spoken  in  favor  of  the  amendment,  had  suffered  from 
the  fearful  forebodings  which  they  had  expressed.  That 
ever  to  be  revered  band  of  patriots  who  made  our  consti 
tution,  entertained  them  also,  and  therefore  they  engraft 
ed  in  it  the  clause  which  is  now  contended  for.  But  a 
full  and  perfect  experience  had  proved  the  fallacy  of  their 
speculation,  and  they  were  now  called  upon  again  to 
adopt  the  exploded  notion ;  and  on  that  ground,  to  dis 
franchise,  if  not  a  majority,  nearly  a  moiety,  of  our  citi 
zens.  He  said  he  was  an  unbeliever  in  the  speculations 
and  mere  theories  on  the  subject  of  government,  of  the 
best  and  the  wisest  men,  when  unsupported  by,  and  es 
pecially  wrhcn  opposed  to,  experience.  He  believed  with 
a  sensible,  and  elegant,  and  modern  writer,  '  that  consti 
tutions  are  the  work  of  time,  not  the  invention  of  inge 
nuity  :  and  that  to  frame  a  complete  system  of  govern 
ment,  depending  on  habits  of  reverence  and  experience, 
was  an  attempt  as  absurd  as  to  build  a  tree,  or  manufac 
ture  an  opinion.' 

"  All  our  observation,  he  said,  united  to  justify  this  as 
sertion — when  they  looked  at  the  proceedings  of  the  con 
vention  which  adopted  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  they  could  not  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  extrava- 


172  THE  LIFE   OF 

gance,  and,  as  experience  had  proved,  the  futility  of  the 
fears  and  hopes  that  were  entertained  and  expressed,  from 
the  different  provisions  of  that  constitution,  hy  the  mem- 
hers.  The  venerable  and  enlightened  Franklin,  had  no 
hope  if  the  President  had  the  qualified  negative,  that  it 
would  be  possible  to  keep  him  honest;  that  the  extensive 
power  of  objecting  to  laws,  would  inevitably  lead  to  the 
bestowment  of  douceurs  to  prevent  the  exercise  of  the 
power;  and  many,  very  many  of  the  members,  believed 
that  the  General  Government,  formed  as  it  was,  would, 
in  a  few  years,  prostrate  the  state  governments.  While, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  lamented  Hamilton,  Mr.  Madison, 
and  others,  distressed  themselves  with  the  apprehension, 
that  unless  they  could  infuse  more  vigor  into  the  consti 
tution  they  were  about  to  adopt,  the  work  of  their  hands 
could  not  be  expected  to  survive  its  framers.  Experi 
ence,  the  only  unerring  touchstone,  had  proved  the  fallacy 
of  all  those  speculations,  as  it  had  also  those  of  the  fram 
ers  of  our  state  constitution,  in  the  particular  now  under 
consideration  ;  and  having  her  records  before  them,  he 
was  for  being  governed  by  them. 

"  If.  then,  it  was  true  that  the  present  representation  of 
property  in  the  Senate  was  ideal,  and  purely  ideal,  did 
not,  continued  Mr.  V.  B.  sound  policy  dictate  an  aban 
donment  of  it,  by  the  possessors  of  property  ?  He  thought 
it  did  ;  he  thought  so  because  he  held  it  to  be  at  all  times, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  and  for  all  interests,  unwise 
to  struggle  against  the  wishes  of  any  portion  of  the  peo 
ple — (O  subject  yourselves  to  a  wanton  exposure  to  public 
prejudice,  to  struggle  for  an  object,  which,  if  attained,  was 
of  no  avail.  He^thought  so,  because  the  retaining  of  this 
qualification  in  the  present  state  of  public  opinion,  would 
have  a  tendency  to  excite  jealousy  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  had  no  freehold  property,  and  because  more  mischief 
was  to  be  apprehended  from  that  source  than  any  other. 
It  was  calculated  to  excite  that  prejudice  because  not  re 
quiring  sufficient  to  effect  the  object  in  view,  it,  in  the 
language  of  Dr.  Franklin,  'exhibited  liberty  in  disgrace, 
by  bringing  it  in  competition  with  accident  and  insignifi 
cance.' 

"  But,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  we  have  been  referred  to  the 
opinions  of  General  Hamilton,  as  expressed  in  his  wri 
tings  in  favor  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  as 
supporting  this  amendment.  He  should  not  detain  the 
committee  by  adding  any  thing  to  what  had  been  said  of 
his  great  worth,  and  splendid  talents.  He  would  omit  it. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  173 

because  he  could  not  add  to  the  encomiums  which  had 
been  delivered  on  (his  floor,  on  his  life  and  character. 
The  tribute  to  departed  worth  has  been  justly  paid  by  the 
honorable  gentlemen  from  Albany  and  Orange,  (Messrs. 
Spencer  and  Duer.)  But  there  Avas  nothing  in  the  Fed 
eralist  to  support  the  amendment.  Without  troubling 
the  committee  by  reading  the  number  which  had  been 
referred  to,  it  would  be  sufficient  for  him  to  say,  that  it 
could  not  be  supposed,  that  the  distinguished  men  who 
had  done  a  lasting  benefit  to  their  country  ;  and  had  earn 
ed  for  themselves  the  highest  honors,  by  the  work  in  ques 
tion,  could  have  urged  the  propriety,  of  a  property  repre 
sentation,  in  one  branch  of  the  Legislature,  in  favor  of  a 
constitution,  which  contained  no  such  provision.  They 
had  not  done  so. 

"We  were,  said  Mr.  V,  B.  next  referred  by  the  honora 
ble  mover  of  the  amendment,  to  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  as  expressed-in  his  Notes  on  Virginia.  In  making 
that  reference,  the  honorable  gentleman  had  done  himself 
credit;  and  had  rendered  but  justice  to  the  merits  of  the 
distinguished  individual,  whose  opinion  he  had  sought  to 
enlist  on  his  side.  He  had  truly  said,  that  now,  when 
the  strong  party  feeling  wrhich  attended  the  public  meas 
ures  in  which  Mr.  Jefferson  was  an  actor,  had  in  some 
degree  subsided,  most  men  united  in  the  acknowledgment 
of  his  deserts.  That  sentiment,  however,  it  appeared, 
was  not  general,  since  the  gentleman  from  Columbia, 
(Mr.  E.  Williams)  distinctly  avows,  the  retention  of  his 
old  prejudices.  Whilst  that  gentleman  was  trumpet- 
tongued,  in  denouncing  the  impropriety  of  indulgence,  in 
party  feelings  by  others,  he  had  given  'them  the  strongest 
reason  to  believe,  that  his  own  were  immortal ;  that  they 
had  not  only  survived  the  'era  of  good  feelings,'  through, 
which  we  had  passed,  but  were  likely  to  continue.  But 
that  notwithstanding,  he  still  thought  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  as 
he  always  had  done,  he  would  condescend  to  use  him  for 
the  occasion.  Sir,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  it  is  grating  to  one's 
feelings,  to  hear  a  man,  who  has  done  his  country  the 
greatest  service,  and  who  at  this  moment  occupies  more 
space  in  the  public  mind,  that  any  other  private  citizen  in 
the  world,  thus  spoken  of.  But  no  more  of  this. 

"Mr.  Jefferson  did  complain,  in  1781,  of  the  constitu 
tion  of  Virginia,  because  the  two  branches  of  their  Legis 
lature  were  not  sufficiently  dissimilar,  but  he  did  not 
point  out  the  mode  in  which  he  thought  that  object  could 
fre  best  effected. 

15* 


174  THE  LIFE  OF 

"In  1783,  when,  as  he  had  before  stated,  a  convention 
was  expected  in  Virginia,  he  prepared  a  form  of  govern 
ment  tj  be  submitted  to  the  people,  in  which  he  provided 
the  same  qualification  for  both  branches,  and  showed 
clearly,  either  that  his  opinion  had  undergone  a  change 
on  the  subject,  or  that  he  supposed  the  object  would  be 
effected  by  the  difference  of  their  term  of  service,  and  the 
districts  they  represented. 

"  The  next  consideration  which  had  been  pressed  upon 
the  committee  by  the  honorable  mover  of  the  amendment, 
was,  the  apprehension  that  the  persons  employed  in  the 
manufactories  which  now  were,  or  which,  in  the  progress 
of  time,  might  be  established  amongst  us,  would  be  influ 
enced  by  their  employers.  So  far  as  it  respected  the  ques 
tion  before  the  committee,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  it  was  a  suffi 
cient  answer  to  the  argument,  that  if  they  were  so  influ 
enced,  they  would  be  enlisted  on  the  same  side,  which  it 
was  the  object  of  the  amendment  to  promote,  on  the  side 
of  property.  If  not — if  they  were  independent  of  the 
influence  of  their  employers,  they  would  be  safe  deposi 
tories  of  the  right.  For  no  man,  surely,  would  contend 
that  they  should  be  deprived  of  the  right  of  voting  on  ac 
count  of  their  poverty,  except  so  far  as  it  might  be  sup 
posed  to  impair  their  independence,  and  the  consequent 
purity  of  the  exercise  of  that  invaluable  right. 

"  The  honorable  gentleman  from  Albany,  (Mr.  Spen 
cer)  had  next  directed  their  attention  to  the  borough  elec 
tions  in  England,  as  evidence  of  the  consequences  which 
might  be  expected  from  the  non  adoption  of  his  amend 
ment.  Mr.  V.  B.  said  he  could  not,  in  his  view  of  the 
subject,  on  the  most  mature  reflection,  have  selected  an 
argument  better  calculated  to  prove  the  amendment  to  be 
unwise  and  improper,  that  this  one,  on  which  the  gentle 
man  mainly  relied  for  its  support.  What,  sir,  said  he, 
was  the  cause  of  the  corruptions  which  confessedly  pre 
vail  in  that  portion  of  the  representation  in  the  parlia 
ment  of  Great  Britain  ?  Was  it  the  lowness  of  the  qual 
ifications  of  the  electors,  in  conparison  with  the  residue 
of  the  country  ?  No.  In  many  of  the  boroughs  a  free 
hold  qualification  was  required  ;  in  most,  that  they  should 
be  burgage  holders ;  and  in  all,  that  they  should  be  free 
men,  paying  scot  and  lot.  Compare,  said  Mr.  V.  B,  these 
qualifications  with  those  required  in  Westminster,  and  it 
will  be  found  that  the  lowest  of  the  former  are  equal  to 
the  latter.  It  would  not  be  necessary  for  him  to  say,  that 
if  the  will  of  the  people  prevailed  in  any  election  in 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  175 

England — if  patriotism  and  public  spirit  was  sure  to  find 
its  appropriate  reward  any  where  in  that  country,  it  was 
at  the  Westminster  elections.  The  qualifications  of  the 
electors,  therefore,  was  not  the  cause,  except  it  was  in 
some  instances  where  the  election  was  confined  to  a  very 
few,  as  for  instance,  to  the  Mayor  and  common  Council  of 
a  borough.  But  I  will  tell  you,  sir,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  what 
is  the  cause — it  is  because  the  representation  in  question, 
is  a  representation  of  things,  and  not  of  men — it  is  because 
that  it  is  attached  to  territory,  to  a  village  or  town,  with- 
put  regard  to  the  population  ;  as  by  the  amendment  under 
consideration,  it  is  attempted  here  to  be  attached  to  terri 
tory,  and  to  territory  only.  Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that 
the  principles  on  which  the  report  of  the  select  commit 
tee  is  based,  and  which  the  amendment  opposes,  should 
be  applied  to  the  representation  in  the  parliament  of 
Great  Britain — that  instead  of  her  present  representation, 
it  should  he  apportioned  among  all  their  subjects  who 
contribute  to  the  public  burthens  ?  Would  you  hear  any 
complaints  in  that  country  on  the  subject  of  their  rotten 
boroughs?  No,  sir;  but  on  the  contrary,  that  reform  in 
parliament  would  be  at  once  obtained,  for  which  the 
friends  of  reform  in  that  devoted  country  have  so  long 
contended,  and  which  they  probably  never  will  obtain, 
except,  (to  use  the  language  of  the  gentleman  from  Alba 
ny)  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  He  could  not,  there 
fore,  but  think  that  the  illustration  resorted  to,  by  the  hon 
orable  mover  of  the  amendment,  was  most  unfortunate 
to  his  argument,  nor  ought  he  to  withhold  his  thanks  for 
the  suggestion. 

"  There  were,  continued  Mr.  V.  B.  many,  very  many 
considerations,  besides  those  he  had  noticed,  which 
could,  with  propriety  and  profit,  be  urged  on  this  occasion, 
to  show  the  impropriety  of  the  amendment.  There  were 
several  which  it  was  his  intention  at  first  to  urge.  He  had 
designed  too,  to  notice  some  of  the  remarks  which  fell 
from  the  gentleman  from  Columbia,  (Mr.  Williams,)  but 
as  he  was  not  certain  that  what  he  should  say,  would 
produce  that  state  of  feeling  necessary  on  so  interesting 
a  subject,  he  would  omit  it.  The  time  which  he  had  al 
ready  occupied — the  very  flattering  attention  with  which 
the  committee  had  listened  to  him,  an  attention  demand 
ing  and  receiving  his  utmost  gratitnde,  induced  him  to 
forbear  from  trespassing  further  on  their  patience.  The 
great  importance,  therefore,  of  having  various  interests, 
various  talents,  and  men  of  various  pursuits,  in  the  Sen- 


176  THE  LIFE  OK 

ate,  to  secure  a  due  attention  to,  and  a  perfect  under 
standing  of,  the  various  concerns  to  which  legislation 
might  be  applied  in  this  state,  the  origin  of  the  freehold 
requisition  in  England  and  here,  together  with  the  reasons 
why  that  distinction,  though  proper  at  the  time  of  the 
adoption  of  our  constitution,  had  almost  entirely  ceased 
to  he  wise  or  just :  and  also  the  causes  which  must  inevi 
tably  render  it  in  a  short  time,  in  our  country  at  least,  very 
unnecessary  and  ineffectual,  together  with  topics  like 
those,  he  would  leave  to  the  very  judicious  remarks  which 
had  already  been  made,  and  to  such  as  might  hereafter  be 
made  by  others. 

"  If  he  could  possibly  believe,  added  Mr.  V.  B.  that 
any  portion  of  the  calamitous  consequences  could  result 
from  the  rejection  of  the  amendment,  which  had  been  so 
feelingly  portrayed  by  the  honorable  gentleman  from 
Albany,  (Mr.  Kent,)  and  for  whom  he  would  repeat  the 
acknowledgment  of  his  respect  and  regard,  he  would  be 
the  last  man  in  society  who  would  vote  for  it.  But,  be 
lieving,  as  he  conscientiously  did,  that  those  fears  were 
altogether  unfounded ;  hoping  and  expecting  that  trip 
happiest  results  would  follow  from  the  abolition  of  the 
freehold  qualification,  and  hoping  too,  that  caution  and 
circumspection  would  preside  over  the  settlement  of  the 
general  right  of  suffrage,  which  was  hereafter  to  be  made, 
and  knowing,  besides,  that  this  state,  in  abolishing  the 
freehold  qualifications,  would  but  be  uniting  herself  in 
the  march  of  principle,  which  had  already  prevailed  in 
every  state  of  the  Union;  except  two  or  three,  including 
the  royal  charter  of  Rhode-Island,  he  would  cheerfully 
record  his  vote  against  the  amendments"* 

The  restriction  proposed  by  Judge  Spencer  was 
rejected.  The  qualifications  required  in  the  report 
of  the  committee,  besides  temporary  residence, 
were,  as  has  already  been  stated,  paying  taxes,  or 
doing  military  duty,  or  working  on  the  highways. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  in  favor  of  adding  to  the  lat 
ter  alternative,  the  further  restriction  of  being  a 
house-holder.  He  expressed  his  fears  that  the  ex- 

*  Debates  in  the  New  York  Convention,  p.  465. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  177 

tension  contemplated  by  some  of  the  amendments 
proposed,  would  not  be  sanctioned  by  the  public 
approbation,  and  would  occasion  the  rejection  of 
the  whole  by  the  people.  In  this  connection,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  remarked,  on  another  occasion,  "  that 
were  the  bare,  naked  question  of  universal  suffrage 
put  to  the  committee"  (of  the  whole)  "he  did  not 
believe  there  were  twenty  members  who  would 
vote  for  it."  He  added  ;  "  One  word  on  the  main 
question  before  the  committee.  We  had  already 
reached  the  verge  of  universal  suffrage.  There 
was  but  one  step  beyond.  And  are  gentlemen  pre 
pared  to  take  that  step  ?  We  were  cheapening 
this  invaluable  right.  He  was  disposed  to  go  as 
far  as  any  man,  in  the  extension  of  rational  liberty  ; 
but  he  could  not  consent  to  undervalue  this  pre 
cious  privilege  so  far  as  to  confer  it,  with  an  indis- 
criminating  hand,  upon  every  one,  black  or  white, 
who  would  be  kind  enough  to  condescend  to  ac 
cept  it."* 

At  other  times,  he  expressed  his  fears  that  some 
of  the  amendments  were  intended  to  go  "  so  far 
as  to  have  all  the  amendments  rejected  by  the  peo 
ple  ;  that  they  were  hazarding  every  thing  by  go 
ing  such  lengths,  and  that  the  people  would  never 
sanction  it."f  *His  views,  however,  are  more  ful 
ly  and  accurately  expressed  in  the  following  re 
marks,  offered  while  the  report  was  still  under 
consideration. 

'•'Mr.  Van  Buren  said,  that  as  the  vote  he  should  now 
*  Debates  in  New  York  Convention,  p.  277. 
lib.  pp.375— 281, 


178  THE  LIFE  OF 

give  on  what  was  called  the  highway  qualification,  would 
be  different  from  what  it  had  been  on  a  former  occasion, 
he  felt  it  a  duty  to  make  a  brief  explanation  of  the  motives 
which  governed  him.  The  qualifications  reported  by  the 
first  committee,  were  of  three  kinds,  viz  :  the  payment  of 
a  money  tax,  the  performance  of  military  duty,  and  work 
ing  on  the  highway.  The  two  former  had  met  with  his 
decided  approbation;  to  the  latter  he  wished  to  add  the 
additional  qualification,  that  the  elector  should,  if  he  paid 
no  tax,  performed  no  militia  duty,  but  offered  his  vote  on 
the  sole  ground  that  he  had  labored  on  the  highways,  also 
be  a  house-holder  ;  and  that  was  the  only  point  in  which 
he  had  dissented,  from  the  report  of  the  committee.  To 
effect  this  object,  he  supported  a  motion  made  by  a  gen 
tleman  from  Dutchess,  to  strike  out  the  highway  qualifi 
cation,  with  a  view  of  adding  'house-holder.'  That  mo 
tion,  after  full  discussion,  had  prevailed  by  a  majority  of 
twenty.  But  what  was  the  consequence  ?  The  very 
next  day,  the  same  gentleman  who  thought  the  highway 
tax  too  liberal  a  qualification,  voted  that  every  person  of 
twenty- one  years  of  age,  having  a  certain  term  of  resi 
dence,  and  excluding  actual  paupers,  should  be  permitted 
to  vote  for  any  officer  in  the  government,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest — far  outvieing,  in  this  particular,  the  other 
states  in  the  Union,  and  verging  from  the  extreme  of  re 
stricted,  to  that  of  universal  suffrage.  The  Convention, 
sensible  of  the  very  great  stride  which  had  been  taken  by 
the  last  vote,  the  next  morning  referred  the  whole  matter 
to  a  select  committee  of  thirteen,  whose  report  was  now 
under  consideration.  The  committee,  though  composed 
of  gentlemen,  a  large  majority  of  whom  had  voted  for  the 
proposition  for  universal  suffrage,  had  now  recommended 
a  middle  course,  viz. — the  payment  of  a  money  tax,  or  la 
bor  on  the  highway,  excluding  militia  service,  which  had, 
however,  been  very  properly  reinstated.  The  question 
then  recurred  ;  shall  an  attempt  be  again  made  to  add 
that  of  house-holder,  to  the  highway  qualification,  and  run 
the  hazard  of  the  re-introduction  ot  the  proposition  of  the 
gentleman  from  Washington,  abandoning  all  qualifica 
tions,  and  throwing  open  the  ballot  boxes  to  every  body — 
demolishing  at  one  blow,  the  distinctive  character  or  an 
elector,  the  proudest  and  most  invaluable  attribute  of 
freemen  ? 

"Mn  Van  Buren  said,  he  had,  on  the  motion  of  the 
gentlemen  from  Columbia,  this  day  hinted  at  the  numer 
ous  objections  which  he  had  to  the  proposition,  which  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  179 

other  day  passed  the  convention,  in  regard  to  the  right  of 
suffrage:  objections  which  he  intended  to  make,  had  the 
committee  reported  in  favor  of  th.t  vote;  and  by  which, 
when  fully  urged,  he  knew  that  he  would  be  able  to  con 
vince  every  member  of  this  committee  of  the  dangerous 
alarming  tendency  of  that  precipitate  and  unexpected 
prostration  of  all  qualifications.  At  this  moment,  he 
would  only  say,  that  among^  the  many  evils  which  would 
flow  from  a  wholly  unrestricted  suffrage,  the  following 
would  be  the  most  injurious,  viz: — 

"  First,  It  would  give  to  the  city  of  New  York  about 
twenty-five  thousand  votes;  whilst",  under  the  liberal  ex 
tension  of  the  right  on  the  choice  of  delegates  to  this  Con- 
rention,  she  had  but  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  thousand 
That  the  character  of  the  increased  number  of  votes  would 
be  such  as  would  reader  their  elections  rather  a  curse 
than  a  blessing  :  vrhich  would  drive  from  the  polls  all  so 
ber  minded  people  ;  and  such,  he  was  happy  to  find,  was 
the  united  opinion,  or  nearly  so,  of  the  delegation  from 
that  city. 

"  Secondly.  It  would  not  only  be  injurious  to  them,  but 
that  injury  would  work  an  equally  great  one  to  the  west 
ern  and  northern  parts  of  the    state.     It  was    the    present 
consolation  of  our  hardy  sons  of  the  west,  that,  for  their 
toils  and  their  sufferings  in  reducing  the  wilderness  to  cul 
tivation,  they  were   cheered  by   the  conviction,  not  only 
that  they  would  be  secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  dear 
bought  improvements,  in  consequence  of  their  representa 
tion  in  the  Legislature,  but  that  any  increase  of  that  re- 
presention  gave  them  a  still  greater  influence  there.  That 
as  far  as  it  respected  this  state,  their  march,  and  the  march 
of  empire  kept  pace.     This  arose  from  the  circumstance 
of  the  representation  in    the  state  being  founded  on   the 
number  of  electors  ;  and  because  almost  every  man  in  a 
new  country  was  an  elector,  under  the  existing  and  con 
templated  qualifications  ;  whilst  in  the  old  counties,  and 
especially  in  cities,  there  were  great  numbers  who  would 
not  be  embraced  by  them.     So  great  was  this  effect,  that 
the  city  of  New  York  alone  would,  under  the  vote  of  the 
other  day,  have  become  entitled  to  additional  voters,  over 
those  who  voted  at   the   election    of   delegates,  equal  or 
nearly  so,  to  the  whole  number  of  votes  of  Ontario  or  Ge- 
nesee.     The  direct  consequence  of  which  would  be,  that 
the  additional  representation  of  fourteen  members,  which 
are  next  year  to  be  distiibuted  among  the  counties,  would 
instead  of  going  principally  to  the  west,  be  surrendered  to 
the  worst  population  of  the  old  counties  and  cities. 


180  THE   LIFE  OF 

"And  thirdly.  The  door  would  have  been  entirely  clo 
sed  against  retreat,  whatever  miglu  be  our  after  conviction 
ibunded  on  experience,  as  to  the  evil  tendency  of  this  ex 
tended  suffrage. 

"  The  just  equilibrium  between  the  rights  of  those  who 
have,  and  those  who  have  no  interest  in  the  government 
could,  when  once  thus  surrendered,  never  be  regained,  ex 
cept  by  the  sword.  But,  according  to  the  present  report, 
if  experience  should  point  out  dangers,  from  the  very  ex 
tensive  qualifications  we  were  about  to  establish,  the  Le 
gislature  might  relieve  against  the  evil,  by  curtailing  the 
objects  of  taxation.  By  the  establishment  of  turnpikes, 
the  making  of  canals,  and  the  general  improvements  01 
the  country,  the  highway  tax  would  naturally  be  lessened 
and  might,  if  the  Legislature  thought  proper,  be  hereafter 
confined  to  property,  instead  of  imposing  it,  as  they  now 
do,  on  adult  male  citizens.  For  one  hundred  years  at  least 
this  would  afford  a  sufficient  protection  against  the  evils 
which  were  apprehended.  He  would,  therefore,  notwith 
standing  his  desire  to  have  the  qualification  of  house-hol 
der  added  to  the  electors  of  the  third  description  remain 
unchanged,  accept  the  report  of  the  committee  as  it  was, 
with  the  addition  of  the  military  qualification,  which  he 
thought  ought  to  be  adopted,  for  the  sake  of  principle,  if 
for  no  other  reason. 

"He  thought  the  committee,  constituted  as  they  were, 
had  done  themselves  great  credit  by  their  concessions  to 
the  opinion  of  those  from  whom  they  differed,  and  he,  for 
one,  returned  them  his  sincere  thanks.  Under  all  circum 
stances,  he  would  be  well  satisfied  with  the  right  of  suf 
frage,  as  it  will  now  be  established,  and  would  give  it  his 
zealous  support,  as  well  in  his  capacity  of  delegate,  as  that 
of  citizen.'5* 

The  provision  was  finally  adopted  as  originally 
reported  by  the  committee,  on  this  point.  Mr. 
Van  Buren  concurred  in  this  course  which  exten 
ded  the  privilege  to  all  who  paid  any  tax,  or  did 
any  military  duty,  or  worked  on  the  highways : 
though  as  we  have  seen  he  would  have  preferred 
an  addition  to  the  last  qualification,  requiring  the 
*  Debates  in  New  York  Convention,  p.  366- 


MARTIN  VAN  BU11EN. 

candidate  in  case  he  possessed  neither  of  the  other 
qualifications,  to  be  a  house-holder.  He  expressed 
his  strong  wish  to  conform  to  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  opinion  of  the  people,  and  his  chief  fears 
seem  to  have  been  that  the  great  departure  from 
the  former  freehold  qualification,  would  hazard  the 
adoption  of  the  whole  amendment. 

His  own  sentiments,  together  with  those  of  the 
people  at  large,  however,  appear  to  have  under 
gone  some  modification  at  a  subsequent  period,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  following  extracts  from  a  let 
ter,  written  by  him,  in  reply  to  certain  questions 
proposed  by  a  committee  of 
Island. 


possesson 
red  #nd   fifty 
,  was  ne 
Lieuten- 


"  By  the  first  constitution  of  New  Y 
of  a  freehold  estate  of  the  value  of  two 
dollars  over  and  above  all  debts  charged  tl 
cessary  to  entitle  a  person  to  vote   for  Goverrf 
ant  Governor,   and    Senators.     Members    of 
were  chosen  by    persons    paying  taxes  and   possessing 
freeholds  of  the  clear  value  of  fifty  dollars,  or  renting  ten 
ements  of  the  value  of  five  dollars. 

"  The  obvious  injustice,  and  ascertained  inutility  of 
this  regulation,  together  with  other  causes  led,  in  1821,  to 
the  call  of  a  convention  for  the  revision  of  our  state  con 
stitution.  Of  that  convention  I  had  the  honor  to  be  a 
member;  and  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  imposed  upon 
me  by  that  situation,  I  labored,  and  in  conjunction  with 
a  majority  of  the  convention,  labored  successfully,  to 
abolish  the  freehold  qualification.  The  principle  which  I 
then  advocated,  and  which  was  established  by  the  amen 
ded  constitution,  extended  the  right  of  voting  for  all  elec 
tive  officers  of  the  State  Government  to  every  citizen  who 
should  contribute  to  the  support  of  government,  either  by 
the  payment  of  taxes  in  money,  or  by  labor  on  the  high 
ways,  or  by  service,  according  to  law,  in  the  militia.  The 
results  of  experience  and  the  progress  of  liberal  opinion, 
soon  led  to  a  further  extension  ;  and  by  an  amendment  to 
the  constitution  finally  adopted  in  1826,  the  right  of  suf- 
16 


182  THE  LIFE  OF 

Frage  was  given  to  every  male  citizen  of  full  age,  who 
shall  have  been  an  inhabitant  of  the  State  for  one  year, 
and  of  the  county  for  six  months  preceding  the  election. 
This  provision,  however,  does  not  extend  to  persons  of 
color,  who,  by  the  constitution  of  1821,  are  not  allowed  td 
vote,  unless  they  have  been,  for  three  years,  citizens  of  the 
state,  and  for  one  year  before  the  election,  seized  and  pos 
sessed  of  a  freehold  of  the  clear  Value  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  and  have  been  rated  and  paid  a  tax  thereon. 
"  The  government  of  New  York  has,  for  several  years, 
been  administered  under  the  liberal  system  established  by 
the  new  constitution,  and  the  still  more  liberal  amend 
ment  of  1826,  in  a  manner  which  appears  to  have  been 
satisfactory  to  the  people.  It  is  possible  that  there  may 
be  some  who  regret  the  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage, 
and  who  would  be  gratified  by  the  revival  of  the  old 
qualification;  but  I  do  not  believe  that  such  a  feeling  is 
entertained  by  any  considerable  portion  of  our  citizens. 
I  am  very  sure  that  any  attempt  to  restrict  the  exercise  of 
the  right,  and  more  especially  to  restore  the  freehold 
qualification,  would  be  put  down  by  an  overwhelming 
majority." 

By  the  old  constitution  of  New  York,  no  distinc 
tion  was  made  with  regard  to  color  in  the  qualifica 
tions  of  electors.    In  the  Convention  for  its  amend" 
ment,  a  proposition  to  restrict  the  right  of  voting 
to  white  citizens,  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  sixty- 
three  to  fifty-nine.     A   long  and  eloquent  debate 
preceded  this  rejection :  Mr.  Van  Buren  did  not 
participate  in  the  debate,  but  voted  with  the   ma 
jority.     At  a  subsequent  period  in  the  business  of 
the  Convention,  when  the  qualifications  of  electors 
were  fixed,  the  blacks  were  excluded   from   the 
right  of  voting,  unless  possessed  of  a  freehold 
estate,  of  the  value  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dol 
lars,  and  were  exempted  from  taxation  to  a  cor 
responding  extent.  This  provision,  which  continues 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  183 

to   be  a   part  of  the   constitution  of  New   York, 
received  his  assent  in  the  following  remarks. 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said  he  had  voted  against  a  total  and 
unqualified  exclusion,  for  he  would  not  draw  a  revenue 
from  them,  and  yet  deny  to  them  the  right  of  suffrage. 
But  this  proviso  met  his  approbation.  They  were  ex 
empted  from  taxation  until  they  had  qualified  themselves 
to  vote.  The  right  was  not  denied,  to  exclude  any  por 
tion  of  the  community  who  will  not  exercise  the  right  of 
suffrage  in  its  purity.  This  held  out  inducements  to  in 
dustry,  and  would  receive  his  support."* 

The  state  of  New  York  exhibits  a  fair  example 
of  the  effects  of  the  utmost  latitude  of  suffrage. 
With  the  largest  city  in  the  Union ;  with  a  very 
extensive  territory ;  with  an  increasing  tide  of  for 
eign  immigrants ;  with  a  strong  infusion  of  party 
excitements,  she  has  adopted  a  rule  of  qualification 
for  the  elective  franchise,  which  rejects  no  man 
who  has  resided  one  year  in  her  territory,  and  six 
months  in  any  of  her  counties, 

Her  distinguished  prosperity ;  the  nobleness  of 
her  public  works  and  institutions ;  the  excellence 
of  her  laws  and  of  her  judicial  tribunals  ;  the  pre 
vailing  morality  and  good  order  of  her  citizens  ; 
the  security  afforded  by  her  laws  to  all  the  rights 
of  the  citizen,  and  her  great  political  influence  in 
the  Union,  conspire  to  demonstrate  the  utter  fallacy 
of  those  fears  which  are  entertained  by  many,  of 
the  evils  of  universal  suffrage,  and  form  an  unan 
swerable  refutation  of  all  arguments  for  restrict 
ing  the  political  rights,  or  infringing  the  political 

•Debates  in  New  York  Convention,  p.  376. 


184  THE  LIFE  OF 

equality  of  the  people.  Give  man  the  privileges 
and  rights  which  belong  to  the  species,  and  he  will 
prove  himself  worthy  of  them.  He  will  rise  to 
the  dignity  he  may  be  left  to  sustain ;  he  will  find 
scope  and  exercise  for  those  qualities  of  the  head 
and  heart  which  belong,  alike,  to  all  humanity. 
Degrade  and  oppress  him,  and  he  becomes  a  de 
mon  and  brute. 

Another  matter  of  great  importance,  and  which 
occupied  a  large  portion  of  the  attention  of  the 
Convention  and  called  forth  some  of  the  ablest 
speeches  in  that  body,  was  the  mode  of  electing 
justices  of  the  peace.  The  importance  of  this  of 
fice  was  strongly  stated  by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  on 
one  occasion,  in  the  following  words.  He  said 
"  the  amount  of  business  before  the  justices  of  the 
peace,  in  this  state,  is  five  times  as  great  as  all  the 
business  before  the  other  courts.  On  this  point,  it 
appeared  to  him,  there  was  no  room  for  diversity 
of  opinion  :  the  truth  of  this  statement  could  be 
ascertained  by  a  reference  to  their  proceedings. 
They  were  equally  important  as  it  respected  crim* 
inal  justice." 

The  committee  on  the  appointing  power  had  re 
ported  in  favor  of  the  election  of  justices  of  the 
peace,  in  every  town,  by  the  people.  Mr.  Van 
Buren  strenuously  opposed  this  proposition,  both 
in  the  select  committee  of  which  he  was  chairman, 
and  in  the  Convention.  His  objection  was,  that 
magistrates,  thus  elected,  would  be  too  much  un* 
der  the  influence  of  local,  party  feelings.  He 
proposed  that  the  board  of  supervisors,  in  each 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  185 

county,  should  nominate  a  suitable  number  of  jus 
tices  of  the  peace,  and  also,  the  respective  courts 
of  common  pleas ;  and  that  from  these  two  lists 
of  nominations,  the  Governor  should  make  the  ap 
pointment.  As  the  views  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on 
this  subject  have  been  somewhat  misrepresented, 
and  as  the  matter,  itself,  is  one  of  great  import 
ance  in  every  state,  the  following  explanations  of 
his  opinions  are  subjoined. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  said  : — 

"  It  was  not  to  be  disguised,  that  that  part  of  the  report 
before  the  committee,  relating  10  the  appointment  of  jus 
tices  of  the  Peace,  was  by  far  the  most  important  feature 
in  the  report — if  that  was  settled,  the  remaining  part  of 
it  would  be  got  along  with  very  easily.  Some  had  thought 
these  magistrates  ought  to  be  elected ;  but  he  had  at  all 
times  been  opposed  to  their  election ;  and  if  he  did  not 
deceive  himself,  the  force  of  remarks  of  gentlemen  in  fa 
vor  of  their  election,  had  excited  doubts  in  the  mind  of 
every  man,  as  to  the  propriety  of  such  a  measure.  He 
concurred  in  the  opinion  which  had  been  expressed  as  to 
the  impropriety  of  electing  the  higher  officers  of  state, 
because  their  duties  were  important ;  and  it  was  to  be 
feared  that  it  would  have  a  tendency  to  render  their  judg 
ment  subservient  to  their  desire  for  a  continuance  in  office. 
This  was  the  principal  argument  which  had  been  used. 
If  there  were  other  reasons  he  did  not  know  what  they 
were. 

"  The  amount  of  business  before  the  Justices  of  the 
Peace  in  this  state,  was  five  times  as  great,  as  all  the 
business  before  the  other  courts — on  this  point,  it  appear 
ed  to  him  there  was  no  room  fora  diversity  of  opinion — 
the  truth  of  this  statement  could  be  ascertained  by  a  re 
ference  to  their  proceedings.  They  were  equally  impor 
tant  as  it  respected  criminal  justice, 

"  As  to  the  probable  effect  upon  their  independence, 
there  is  no  room  for  a  comparison.  The  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  are  elected  for  a  long  term  of  time  ;  should 
the  people  become  dissatisfied,  even  whole  counties,  these 
officers  might  not  feel  the  effects  of  their  displeasure  till 

16* 


186  THE  LIFE  OP 

after  a  longtime  had  elapsed  ;  but  apply  this  to  Justice;; 
of  the  Peace,  who  administer  justice  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  their  constituents,  and  are  exposed  to  the  daily 
scrutiny  of  those  upon  whom  they  are  dependent;  who 
are  cognizant  of  all  they  do;  and  have  the  power  of  pas 
sing  judgment  on  them.  If  they  are  not  satisfied  with 
them,  they  must  forfeit  their  offices. 

"What  could  the  single  arm  of  a  chief  magistrate  of 
the  state  do  towards  suppressing  a  rebellion  ?  It  must  be 
effected  through  the  interposition  of  this  inferior  magis 
tracy.  He  was  willing  to  go  as  far  as  any  man,  in  en 
deavoring  to  curtail  dangerous  patronage  in  distinct  bodies 
of  men  ;  but  he  would  not  go  so  far  as  to  cut  every  cord 
that  binds  together  the  people  to  the  government."* 

On  another  occasion  he  pursued  the  same  sub 
ject  in  the  following  remarks. 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said  he  would  briefly  reply  to  some  of 
the  observations  which  had  fallen  from  the  honorable  gen 
tleman  from  Columbia,  (Judge  Van  Ness,)  and  would 
also  add  a  few  words  in  answer  to  the  suggestion  of  his 
venerable  friend  from  Queens,  (Mr.  King. 

"  The  honorable  gentleman  from  Columbia  had  exam 
ined  and  discussed  the  matter  with  a  degree  of  zeal  and 
ability  proportionate  to  the  very  deep  interest  he  naturally 
took  in  it:  in  one  respect,  he  said,  he  fully  accorded  with 
him — that  in  the  formation  of  a  constitution  of  govern 
ment,  they  ought  to  divest  themselves  of  the  influence  of 
party.  All  agree  in  deprecating  party  spirit,  and  many 
have  admonished  us,  that  we  cannot  be  too  scrupulously 
cautious  on  this  subject :  he  was  well  satisfied,  that,  if 
we  all  practised  upon  our  own  precepts — if  we  did,  in  fact, 
smother  all  feelings  of  party,  it  could  not  be  possible  that 
we  should  have  so  much  difficulty  in  providing  for  the  ap 
pointment  of  justices  of  the  peace. 

"  He  could  not  suppress  his  apprehension  that  the  irn- 
diate  effect  on  the  political  interests  of  the  state,  of  which 
his  amendment  was  supposed  susceptible,  had  called  forth 
much  of  the  opposition  it  had  to  contend  with.  He  did 
not  pretend  to  be  more  exempt  from  the  influence  of  party 

*  Debates  in  the  New  York  Convention,  p.  321. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  i^ 

feelings  than  others  ;  but  he  would  not  fail  on  all  occa 
sions,  to  act  openly  and  above  board,  and  assign  the  true 
motives  of  his  vote  and  conduct. 

"The  gentleman  from  Columbia  had  said,  that  as  yet, 
we  had  done  nothing  for  the  people — that  we  had  not 
given  them  any  greater  share  of  influence  in  the  selection 
of  their  local  officers,  than  they  had  before  enjoyed.  That 
gentleman's  solicitude  for  the  privileges  of  the  people  is 
commendable :  but,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  is  the  assertion  true, 
sir?  If  it  was,  it  would  be  a  matter  worthy  of  serious 
consideration.  But,  he  continued,  it  is  not  correct-  In 
the  first  place,  they  had  given  to  the  people,  the  right  of 
choosing  more  than  eight  thousand  militia  officers:  Was 
this  nothing?  But  we  were  told  that  the  public  care 
nothing  about  this  right!  In  this  respect,  too,  the  gentle 
man  was  greatly  in  error.  There  was  no  subject  oil 
which  men  felt  a  more  lively  interest.  Let  a  militia  offi 
cer  be  improperly  superseded  or  supplanted,  and  they 
would  find  lhat  it  was  a  matter  of  no  small  interest  or 
concern  with  the  people.  What  has  induced  our  respec 
tive  chief  magistrates  to  travel  out  of  the  ordinary  coursej 
and  indulge  in  the  granting  of  brevet  commissions,  if 
there  was  no  solicitude  in  regard  to  military  appoint 
ments?  There  was,  he  said,  great  anxiety  on  this  sub 
ject. 

"  There  are,  said  Mr.  Van  Buren,  about  6600  civil  offi 
cers  in  this  state.  Of  this  number,  by  the  report  of  the 
select  committee  it  was  proposed  to  leave  three  thousand 
six  hundred,  for  which,  in  consequence  of  their  liability 
to  frequent  changes,  no  constitutional  provision  was  made 
by  the  committee,  to  be  appointed  in  such  a  manner  as 
the  legislature  shall  designate.  Was  this  nothing?  If 
the  people  desire  to  have  these  officers  elected,  they  will 
send  to  the  legislature,  such  men  as  will  obey  their  wishes 
in  this  respect;  if  they  are  not  made  elective,  it  will  be 
because  the  people  do  not  wish  it ;  and  they  can,  in  this 
way,  bring  home  to  themselves  the  choice  of  these  three 
thousand  six  hundred  officers. 

"  With  respect  to  the  residue  of  the  number,  it  was  pro 
posed  to  leave  it  with  the  supervisors  of  the  counties,  to 
nominate  as  many  candidates  for  each  town  as  there  were 
magistrates  to  be  appointed  in  them  respectively  :  And 
that  the  judges  of  the  courts  of  common  pleas  should  in 
like  manner  nominate  for  each  town  ;  if  they  agreed,  the 
officers  on  whom  they  so  agreed,  should  be  thus  appoint 
ed,  and  so  far  only  as  they  disagreed,  the  lists  should  be 


188  THE  LIFE  OF 

sent  to  the  Governor ;  from  these  lists  it  should  be  left  to 
the  executive  to  select.  The  lists  presented  by  the  super 
visors,  would  very  generally  be  in  accordance  with  the 
sentiments  of  the  people,  and  it  must  be  supposed  that 
they  would  consult  their  wishes  and  views  on  the  subject. 
And  is  this,  asked  Mr.  Van  Buren,  giving  chaff  to  the 
people  ? 

"  We  have,  sir,  continued  he,  challenged  gentlemen  to 
show,  why  it  would  not  be  as  fit,  and  proper  to  elect  the 
higher  judicial  officers,  as  magistrates  for  the  towns  ;  no 
answer  had  been  given  to  this  inquiry,  because  none 
could  be  given.  It  must  be  perfectly  obvious,  that  every 
consideration  that  would  be  urged  in  favor  of  electing  jus 
tices  of  the  peace,  would  apply  in  favor  of  having  the 
judges  of  the  higher  tribunals  also  elective;  and  that  even 
fewer  objections  exist  to  having  those  courts  selected  in 
this  way  ;  this  had  not  been  mentioned  as  a  threat,  that  a 
proposition  of  that  nature  would  be  made  ;  but  as  an  argu 
ment  to  show  the  impropriety  of  having  any  judicial  offi 
cers  elected,  in  order  to  test  the  sincerity  of  some  gentle 
men's  solicitude  for  the  people.  In  this  we  are  consistent 
throughout:  the  inconsistency  was  on  the  part  of  those 
who  were  for  having  the  higher  judicial  officers  appoint 
ed,  and  the  justices  of  the  peace  elected. 

"  We  do  not,  sir,  said  Mr.  V.  B.,  deny  the  competency 
of  the  people  to  make  a  proper  choice  ;  this  argument  has 
been  unfairly  and  untruly  stated.  Those  who  oppose 
the  election  of  justices,  do  not  do  so  because  they  have 
any  distrust  of  the  people.  The  objection  to  having  them 
elected,  did  not  flow  from  that  consideration;  but  was 
with  respect  to  the  officer  elected.  It  was  because  the 
magistrate  would  of  necessity  be  acquainted  with  all,  who 
opposed  and  who  supported  him.  This  would  more  or 
less  bias  his  mind  in  favor  of  those,  to  whom  he  owed  his 
election.  It  would  be  giving  the  rich  and  powerful  a 
great  advantage  over  the  poor  ;  and  even,  if  it  did  not,  it 
would  excite  jealousy  and  suspicion  of  unfairness  on  his 
part ;  which  in  its  operation,  would  be  nearly  as  prejudi 
cial  to  the  public  peace,  as  if  really  injustice  was  done. 
These  were  the  reasons,  which  had  led  him,  and  others, 
to  doubt  the  propriety  of  having  magistrates  elected. 
The  gentleman  from  Columbia,  however,  has  told  us,  that 
there  can  be  no  danger  from  a  want  of  independence,  or 
from  the  partiality  of  magistrates — he  says  their  conduct 
will  be  watched,  and  they  will  not  dare  to  act  improperly. 
Watched  by  whom?  By  those  whom  they  intend  to  fa- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  189 

vor,  and  who  will  he  able,  and  willing  to  screen  them 
from  harm,  and  support  them  against  the  efforts  of  injured 
and  oppressed  poterty,  to  procure  redress  ! !  But  the  de 
fendant  may  call  a  jury  if  he  has  not  confidence  in  the 
justice  ;  a  mighty  boon,  truly  !  Am  I  to  tell  the  gentle 
man  from  Columbia,  how  little  advantages  juty  is  to  a, 
party,  if  the  court  is  against  them?  How,  sir,  is  he  to 
get  his  facts,  on  which  he  relies  before  the  juryj?  Is  not 
the  court  the  crucible  through  which  they  have*  to  pass, 
before  they  get  there?  And  does  not  daily  experience 
prove,  that  in  civil  causes,  the  court  can  in  almost  -every 
case,  regulate  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  by  the  exclusive 
power  they  possess,  to  decide  all  questions  of  law  ?  Again, 
we  are  told  that  where  injustice  is  done  by  the  magis 
trate,  the  par.ty  injured,  may  obtain  redress  by  means  ofs: 
certiorari!  This  was  a  reason,  he  said,  he  had  hardly 
expected  to  have  heard  from  that  quarter ;  the  gentleman 
from  Columbia,  well  knew,  that  the  remedy  by  certiorari, 
would  not  reach  oee  in  twenty  cases  where  injustice  had 
been  suffered. 

"  It  is,  said  Mr.  V.  B.,  very  desirable  to  restore  peace  and 
quiet  to  the  community ;  he  was  willing  to  do  all  in  his 
f>ower  to  promote  so  worthy  an  object.  But  how  was 
this  to  be  done?  Will  the  election  of  justices  by  the  peo 
ple,  have  a  greater  tendency  to  remove  strife,  than  the 
project  to  have  them  selected  in  tfce  manner  proposed  by 
the  amendment  he  had  submitted  ?  He  thought  not. 

"  The  gentleman  from  Columbia,  says  ihis  nominat'ioE 
'ijv  the  supervisors  would  create  violence  and  strife  in  their 
elections,  when  it  is  known  that  they  were  to  present  the 
candidates  to  be  appointed.  But  if  .the  election  of  those, 
who«.re  merely  to  nominate,  will  create  this  violence  and 
strife,  he  could  not  perceive  why  there  should  be  less  diffi 
culty,  when  the  officers  themselves,  were  to  be  directly 
elected  by  the  people.  That  they  are  important  offices, 
the  gentleman  has  himself  told  us  ;  and  he  has  also  told 
us  that  there  election  wiU  call  to  the  polls,  all  the  farmers, 
and  men  who  have  an  interest  in  the  due  administration 
,of  justice;  and  yet  he  would  have  us  believe,  that  the 
election  of  magistrates  will  produce  no  strife  or  anorv  con 
tests  ;  This,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  I  cannot  comprehend  !  It 
was  generally  supposed  that  the  degree  of  warmth  and 
strife  at  elections,  was  in  proportion  to  the  interests  felt 
by  the  electors  in  the  result. 

"  He  would  add  one  word  in  reply  to  the  remarks  of  the 
fronora>>?e  rernleman  from  Queens,  He  would  have  tbc 


190  THE  LIFE  OF 

people  select  the  candidates  by  ballot,  and  that  the  names 
of  those  having  the  highest  number  of  votes,  as  also  of 
those  Avho  had  the  next  highest,  should  be  presented  to 
the  courts  of  common  pleas,  who  should  be  authorised  to 
appoint  the  requisite  number  from  among  the  names  thus 
presented.  The  consequence  of  this  would  be,  that  in 
every  town,  there  would  be  two  sets  of  nominations  of  dif 
ferent  politics,  and  it  would  create  a  strong  temptation  for 
the  judges  to  decide  purely  on  party  grounds  ;  and  so  far, 
therefore,  from  this  being  the  means  of  allaying  strife,  it 
would  greatly  increase  it.  But  if  the  selection  should  be 
made  by  the  supervisors  and  the  judges  of  the  courts  of 
common  pleas,  it  was  morally  certain,  that  in  a  vast  ma 
jority  of  cases,  the  same  persons  would  be  recommended 
by  both,  because  they  would  be  of  the  same  politics.  We 
may,  said  Mr.  V.  B.,  speak  of  the  practical  operation  of  this 
measure,  founded  on  what  we  all  know  will  happen  from 
the  partiality  and  attachment,  which  men  of  the  same 
political  sentiments  have  for  each  other,  without  incurring 
the  censure  of  being  influenced  by  party  motives  in  bring 
ing  forward  this  proposition.  It  would  operate  sometimes 
in  favor  of  one  party,  and  sometimes  of  another  ;  the  great 
object  was  to  direct  these  party  attachments  to  the  selec 
tions  of  good  men,  and  to  secure  the  independence  of  the 
magistrates — that  the  law  may  be  administered  without 
partiality,  or  suspicion  of  partiality.  Where  the  super 
visors  and  judges  were  of  the  same  politics,  they  would 
be  cautious  to  recommend  none  but  men  of  fair  characters, 
and  such  as  were  competent ;  and  where  they  differed, 
the  Governor  would  select ;  and  in  making  this  selection 
he  would  not  consider  himself  bound,  on  all  occasions,  to 
take  those  who  were  of  the  same  politics  with  himself  j 
hewould  most  likely  be  disposed  to  deal  liberally  with  his 
opponents. 

"  The  gentleman  from  Queens,  says  we  must  cut  asun 
der  all  connexion  between  the  executive  and  the  local  au 
thorities.  I  am  sir,  said  Mr.  V.  B.,  in  the  habit  of  receiv 
ing  his  opinions  with  great  respect  and  deference,  but  on 
the  present  occasion  he  was  constrained  to  differ  with 
him.  Why,  he  asked,  should  this  be  done  ?  Is  it  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  out  of  his  hands  a  patronage  which 
would  add  too  much  to  his  power  ?  It  was  not  for  the  ben 
efit  of  the  chief  magistrate  that  he  would  confer  on  him 
this  qualified  power  in  the  appointment  of  magistrates,  but 
for  the  advancement  of  the  public  good.  Past  experience 
had  proved,  that  power  of  this  kind  added  nothing  to  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  191 

stability  of  the  executive  ;  it  gave  him  no  strength,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  was  calculated  to  weaken  him.  We 
have  seen  several  examples  in  this  state,  where  the  pos 
session  of  the  power  of  appointment  has  destroyed  its  pos 
sessors.  It  was  the  case  in  1807,  1811,  1813,  and  again 
upon  a  very  recent  occasion.  If  these  officers  could  be 
elected  by  the  people,  consistently  with  their  necessary  in 
dependence,  and  the  due  administration  of  justice,  he 
would  without  hesitation,  vote  for  it ;  but  he  felt  a  strong 
conviction  that  it  was  wrong  in  principle  to  elect  judicial 
officers,  and  he  was  very  confident  its  practical  operation 
would  be  unfavorable  to  the  public  interest. 

"  Such  being  his  sincere  opinion,  he  could  not  unite  with 
his  honorable  friend  from  Queens,  to  separate  the  execu 
tive  entirely  from  the  magistracy  of  the  state,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  destroying  patronage  and  avoiding  political  in 
fluence.  That  power  would  be  put  in  the  hands  of  the 
executive,  not  for  himself,  but  to  secure  to  the  majority  of 
the  people  that  control  and  influence  in  every  section  of 
the  state  to  which  they  are  justly  entitled.  The  execu 
tive  is  but  their  agent 'to  carry  their  wishes  into  effect,  and 
this  he  does  upon  great  responsibility.  That  supremacy 
of  the  majority  which  it  is  proposed  to  surrender,  is  of  vi 
tal  importance  to  them.  It  is  the  just  reward  of  their  for 
titude,  their  patriotism  and  fidelity,  in  war  and  in  peace. 
It  has  been  hardly  earned  and  fairly  won,  and  they  ought 
to  enjoy  it.  My  feelings,  sir,  do  not  lead  me  to  such  a 
course.  My  constituents  have  not  authorised  me  to  make 
such  a  surrender,  and  I  have  no  idea  of  usurping  it. 

"Look  at  the  General  Government;  All  its  officers  are 
appointed  by  the  general  appointing  power;  no  incon 
venience  has  grown  out  of  this  practice  there, — and  we 
have  not  heard  that  any  one  wished  to  have  any  change 
in  this  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  The 
United  States  officers,  might  be  well  chosen  in  the  differ 
ent  states;  still  it  never  has  been  supposed  proper  to  do 
50,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  stripping  the  executive  of  pow 
er  and  influence. 

"  He  was,  he  said,  not  only  satisfied  that  it  was  proper 
that  there  should  be  this  connexion  between  the  executive 
and  these  local  officers,  but  that  the  due  administration  of 
justice,  and  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace,  required 
it.  He  is  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  laws ;  he 
must  execute  them  through  the  agency  of  magistraies ; 
and  would  not,  he  asked,  this  connexion  promote  this  ob 
ject  ?  He  would  call  the  attention  of  gentlemen  to  the 


192  THE  LIFE  OF 

state  of  things  which  existed  during  the  late  war ;  he 
would  not  do  so  for  the  purpose  of  reviving  any  improper 
feelings;  but  to  illustrate  and  enforce  the  propriety  of  the 
sentiments  he  had  advanced.  It  would  be  recollected  by 
all,  what  difficulties  and  embarrassments  had  been  occa 
sioned  by  this  want  of  connexion  belween  the  executive 
and  magistracy  of  the  state.  The  council  of  appointment 
were  at  that  time  of  different  politics  with  the  executive, 
and  all  the  officers  of  their  appointment  were  opposed  to 
the  war  and  its  prosecution.  The  prejudice  which  those 
collisions  produced  to  the  public  service,  and  the  unceas 
ing  and  unavailing  complaints  of  the  executive,  of  a  want 
of  eo-operation  of  the  public  officers,  surely  cannot  so  soon 
be  forgotten. 

"I  am,  therefore,  said  Mr.  V>  B,,  inasmuch  as  this  pow 
er  must  be  vested  somewhere,  for  giving  the  control  to  the 
majority  of  the  state.  If,  in  consequence  of  the  avowal 
of  this  sentiment,  I  subject  myself  to  the  charge  of  intol 
erance,  I  submit  to  it.  My  conscience  acquits  me  of  any 
such  motives.  I  feel  that  1  may  with  safety  appeal  to  my 
political  course  for  an  ample  refutation  of  such  imputa 
tions  ;  and  1  cannot  but  think  that  the  number  of  my  politi 
cal  adversaries,  who  would  be  constrained  to  exonerate 
me,  would  not  be  inconsiderable.  But,  sir,  these  are  mat 
ters  with  which  the  committee  have  no  concern ;  they 
will  be  no  longer  troubled  with  them — the  question  must 
be  tested  by  other  considerations."* 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  amendment  was  rejected 
by  a  majority  of  two  votes ;  and,  by  the  provi 
sion  finally  adopted,  the  appointment  was  ves 
ted  solely  in  the  board  of  supervisors  and  the 
courts  of  common  pleas  ;  which  proposition,  as  it 
approached  very  nearly  to  his  own,  received  his 
assent. 

To  present  a  complete  view  of  the  services  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  in  the  Convention,  would  make  it 
necessary  to  transcribe  portions  of  almost  every 
page  of  its  reports.  On  questions  relating  to  the 

*Debates  in  the  New  York  Convention,  p.  339. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  193 

right  of  franchise,  the  distribution  of  the  appointing 
power,  the  executive  veto,  and  similar  cardinal 
points,  involving  important  general  principles  and 
reaching  to  the  fundamental  rights  of  the  people, 
full  extracts  have  been  presented.  The  views  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  on  these  important  and  general 
topics,  it  has  seemed  necessary  and  proper  fully  to 
represent.  With  respect  to  minor  points,  rela 
ting  not  to  principles  but  practice,  reference  must 
be  made  to  the  volume  itself. 

It  will  have  been  seen  by  the  extracts  contained 
in  this  volume,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren's  leading  sub 
ject  of  consideration  was  the  proper  distribution  of 
the  appointing  power ;  that  he  was  in  favor  of  a 
Governor  for  two  years,  with  a  veto  upon  all  laws 
so  far  as  to  make  their  re-enactment  by  two-thirds 
of  both  houses  necessary  to  their  passage  against 
his  consent ;  that  he  was  opposed  to  a  bill  of  rights, 
as  implying  some  higher  authority  than  the  peo 
ple  ;  that  he  was  strenuously  opposed  to  a  free 
hold  qualification  for  electors,  and  in  favor  of  ex 
tending  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  utmost  limit 
which  the  people  seemed  ready  to  approve  ;  that 
he  approved  of  excluding  the  blacks  from  voting 
without  a  free-hold  interest  of  two  hundred  and  fif 
ty  dollars,  to  which  extent  they  were  also  to  be 
free  from  taxation;  that,  while  he  avowed  the 
principle  that  the  dominant  party  should  always 
possess  and  exercise  the  official  patronage,  yet  he 
maintained,  due  regard  in  its  distribution  should 
constantly  be  had  for  the  rights  of  the  minority  ; 
and  that  he  was  in  favor  of  placing  in  the  hands  of 
17 


194  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  people,  the  direct  exercise  of  every  right  which 
would  not  lead  to  the  corruption  of  public  officers. 
On  all  occasions,  he  avowed  the  great  principle, 
which  has  ever  guided  his  public  conduct,  of  ex 
pressing  so  far  as  possible,  the  opinion  of  the  peo 
ple  ;  to  the  people,  he  always  referred  as  the  just 
arbiters  of  all  political  measures  and  the  only 
source  of  legitimate  authority,  and  in  the  intelli 
gence,  capacity,  and  honesty  of  the  people,  he  al 
ways  exhibited  the  utmost  confidence. 

The  approbation  with  which  his  course  in  the 
convention,  was  received  by  the  people  of  the  state 
affords  another  proof  of  his  intuitive  sense  of  pop 
ular  feelings  and  popular  rights,  and  of  that  innate 
sympathy  between  his  own  feelings  and  the  com 
mon  feelings  of  his  fellow  men,  which  constitutes 
the  secret  of  his  success  in  political  life,  and  of  the 
affection  and  confidence  reposed  in  him. 

It  has  been  charged  upon  Mr.  Van  Buren  that  he 
is  the  blind  tool  of  party ;  that  he  appears  to  be 
supported  by  popular  opinion,  because,  by  a  com 
bination  of  secret  manoeuvres,  he  contrives  to 
mould  and  create  that  opinion  ;  that  intrigue  and 
management  are  the  only  guides  of  his  political 
course,  and  that  his  success  is  the  result  of  the  ar 
tifices  of  a  well-drilled  corps  of  subalterns  who  are 
bound  to  his  interests,  by  selfish  motives,  and  gui 
ded  rather  by  motives  of  personal  aggrandizement 
than  by  a  consideration  of  the  public  weal. 

This  charge  has  originated  with  men  who  have 
no  capacity,  in  their  own  natures,  to  appreciate  the 
true  secret  of  his  success  ;  men  who  have  no  spon- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  195 

taneous  sympathy  with  the  mass  of  their  fellow- 
men,  but  contemplate  them,  wholly,  from  a  wrong 
position  ;  who  regard  the  mass  of  mankind  as  cor 
rupt  and  ignorant,  and  fit  subjects  of  goverment  in 
stead  of  legitimate  so vereigns.  With  these  mista 
ken  views,  no  congeniality  exists  between  their  own 
feelings  and  the  feelings  of  humanity  at  large. 
These  politicians  never  meet  popular  expectation, 
and  consequently  never  succeed,  except  by  acci 
dent,  or  hypocrisy,  or  the  temporary  misleading  of 
popular  judgment.  Unable  to  appreciate  the  bond 
of  sympathy  which  unites  the  true  democrat  to 
every  member  of  the  democratic  family ;  unwil 
ling  to  be  content,  like  him,  to  gather  public  senti 
ment  and  make  it  their  supreme  rule  of  action,  re 
gardless  of  personal  preferences  or  private  aggran 
dizement  ;  they  are  engaged  in  a  perpetual  strug 
gle  against  the  strong  sense  of  the  great  mass  of 
their  fellow-men,  a  struggle  which,  notwithstanding 
all  their  artifice,  finally  prostrates  all  their  schemes 
of  ambition.  It  is  natural  for  them  to  ascribe  the 
superior  success  of  the  truly  great  man,  to  superi 
or  adroitness  in  the  same  contemptible  and  unnat 
ural  warfare  in  which  they  have  sought  success 
themselves.  Conscious  of  their  own  secret  mo 
tives  to  obtain  influence  and  not  apprehending 
that  integrity  and  penetration  in  the  people  which 
leads  to  their  own  defeat,  while  it  discriminates 
and  adopts  the  honest  patriotism  of  others, — they 
constantly  mistake  the  true  causes  of  political  suc 
cess,  and  amid  mortification  and  failure,  come  to 
regard  all  public  men  as  dishonest  and  all  politics) 


I9(>  THE  LIFE  OF 

life  as  a  scene  of  intrigue  and  corruption.  The 
observance  of  two  plain  rules  would  be  of  great 
service  to  these  men ;  first,  to  be  honest  and  pa 
triotic  themselves,  and,  second,  to  rely  on  the  hon 
esty,  capacity  and  patriotism  of  the  people. 

The  whole  public  course  of  Mr,  Van  Buren  is  a 
refutation  of  the  imputations  which  are  cast  upon 
him  from  this  quarter.  He  has  never  been  seen  to 
sacrifice  his  views  of  the  public  weal  to  schemes 
of  self-aggrandizement,  or  to  the  violent  dictates  of 
party  spirit.  An  eminent  illustration  of  the  truth 
of  this  assertion  may  be  selected  from  his  course 
in  the  convention  to  amend  the  constitution. 

The  justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  by  the  former  constitution,  were  made 
members  of  the  Council  of  revision  ;  a  provision 
which  connected  them,  closely,  with  party  politics. 
During  the  period  which  preceded  the  amend 
ments  of  the  constitution,  the  bench  of  the  supreme 
court  was  filled  with  men  who  had,  all  their  lives 
been  active  partizans  and  who  mingled  their  party 
principles  and  prejudices  with  the  discharge  of 
their  duties  as  members  of  the  council  of  revision 
and  even  as  public  administrators  of  justice.  They 
had  opposed,  thwarted,  and  reviled  the  measures  of 
the  democracy,  with  unceasing  violence  ;  and  not 
withstanding  the  high  respect  which  their  talents 
and  learning,  in  many  instances,  commanded,  they 
had  incurred,  by  their  partizan  activity,  the  strong 
est  antipathy  of  the  friends  of  popular  rights. 

It  was  the  natural  consequence  of  their  perse 
verance  in  such  high-handed  measures,   that  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  197 

tenure  of  their  offices  should  be  hazarded,  when  it 
came  into  the  hands  of  an  assembly  so  strongly  de 
mocratic  as  the  Convention  to  amend  the  consti 
tution.  The  wrongs,  which  the  leading  republi 
cans  in  the  Convention  had  suffered,  at  the  hands 
of  the  supreme  court,  were  fresh  in  their  memories; 
the  evils  which  had  flown  from  the  party  violence 
of  the  court,  were  notorious,  and  it  is  not  surpri 
sing  that  an  effort  was  made  to  introduce  such  a 
modification  of  the  constitution,  as  should  remove 
from  power,  the  obnoxious  individuals  who  had 
thus  perverted  the  high  duties  of  their  official  sta 
tion.  It  is  easy,  however,  for  the  calm  observer 
to  see  that  a  measure  having  reference  to  the  mere 
removal  of  obnoxious  public  officers,  hardly  came 
within  the  legitimate  action  of  a  Convention,  assem 
bled  to  amend  the  great  charter  of  a  people's  rights, 
and  furnish  a  permanent  rule  of  government  for  a 
great  state. 

On  this  ground,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  rising  above 
temporary  and  personal  considerations,  and  laying 
aside  the  influence  of  party  feelings  and  the  recol 
lection  of  private  injuries  and  persecution, — oppos 
ed  a  re-organization  of  the  judicial  department,  the 
only  effect  of  which,  would  have  been,  the  displace 
ment  of  the  judges  then  in  office.  In  his  views  of 
duty  on  this  occasion,  he  differed  from  his  personal 
friends,  and  from  the  most  distinguished  members 
of  that  great  party  of  which  he  was  the  acknowl 
edged  leader.  His  course,  however,  was  so  evi 
dently  the  result  of  principle,  and  so  obviously  free 
from  personal  considerations  and  selfish  motives, 
17* 


198  THE  LIFE  OB! 

that  he  lost  no  share  of  the  respect  and  confidence' 
of  his  old  and  valued  friends,  who,  at  this  painful 
juncture,  lost  the  benefit  of  his  support.  The  fol 
lowing  extracts  from  his  speech  on  this  occasion, 
will  explain  the  disinterested  motives  by  which  he 
was  governed,  and  will  show  the  injustice  of  laying 
to  his  charge  an  adherence  to  party,  to  the  sacri 
fice  of  principle. 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said,  the  true  and  only  question  pre 
sented  by  the  amendment  offered  by  the  president,  was, 
whether  this  committee  were  prepared  to  insert  an  arti 
cle  in  the  constitution,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  vacating  the 
offices  of  the  present  chancellor  and  judges  of  the  supreme 
court,  to  separate  them  from  the  other  officers  in  the  state, 
and  to  apply  to  them  a  rule,  which  had  not  as  yet  been  ap 
plied  in  a  single  instance.  Gentlemen  might  attempt  to 
disguise  the  matter  as  they  would  ;  it  was  in  vain  to  hope 
that  it  could  be  understood  by  the  people  in  any  other 
light.  A  moment's  consideration  must  satisfy  gentlemen, 
that  such  was  the  case.  If  the  Convention  bad  changed 
the  organization  of  the  courts,  there  would  be  a  propriety 
in  providing  for  the  reappointment  of  the  judges — but  this 
they  had  not  done.  The  court  of  chancery  was  placed  by 
the  amendment  on  precisely  the  same  footing  as  it  now 
stood  in  the  constitution.  How,  then,  could  it  be  gravely 
contended,  that  its  introduction  into  the  amendment  was 
for  any  other  purpose  than  to  get  rid  of  the  incumbent? 
The  only  alteration  made  in  the  supreme  court,  (if  that 
could  be  called  one,)  was  the  authority  given  to  the  Le 
gislature  to  reduce  the  number  of  judges.  This,  he  said, 
was  a  power  they  now  possessed,  by  withholding  salaries 
from  all  above  the  number  they  desired.  But  assuming 
that  it  was  in  fact  an  alteration,  can  the  gentlemen  from 
Delaware  and  Saratoga,  natter  themselves  with  the  hope 
that  this  trifling  alteration  can  possibly,  with  an  intelligent 
public,  exempt  the  amendment  they  support  from  the  im 
putation  of  being  a  mere  personal  measure,  having,  and 
being  intended  to  have,  a  personal  bearing,  and  no  other  ? 
But  to  put  this  matter  at  rest,  let  the  gentlemen  give  to 
their  proposition  the  shape  of  their  argument.  If,  say 
they,  the  Legislature  should  alter  the  number,  then  a  re- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUUEN.  19(1 

appointment  will  be  proper;  and  to  meet  such  a  case, 
they  submit  a  proposition  which  requires  a  re-appoint- 
nient  at  ail  events.  Let  them  say,  in  their  amendment, 
that  (/"a  change  ot'  the  number  of  the  judges  is  ultimately 
effected,  then  the  offices  of  the  present  incumbents  shall 
be  vacated.  Then,  and  then  only,  will  they  be  entitled  to 
the  benefit  of  their  argument.  That,  however,  he  knew 
would  not  answer  their  views.  But  why  reason  upon  this 
subject?  The  gentlemen  have,  as  in  the  select  commit 
tee,  thrown  off  all  disguise,  and  say  these  offices  ought  to 
be  vacated  ;  and  it  is  their  desire  that  the  constitution 
should  be  made  to  bend  to  that  purpose.  Mr.  Van  Buren 
said  he  had  stated  that  the  amendment  went  to  apply  this 
rule  of  vacating  commissions,  exclusively  to  our  highest 
judicial  offices.  This,  he  said  was  strictly  true  with  re 
gard  to  the  attorney-general,  secretary  of  state,  surveyor- 
general,  and  comptroller.  Their  offices  had  not  been  va 
cated.  The  only  provision  which  had  been  made  was  to 
provide  for  appointments  in  case  of  vacancies.  The  same 
might  be  said  of  the  canal  commissioners,  and  of  every 
other  office  in  the  state.  *  * 

"The  matter  therefore  being  clear,  that  the  only  effect 
of  the  amendment  would  be  to  turn  out  of  office  the  pres 
ent  incumbents,  he  submitted  to  the  convention  whether 
it  would  be  either  just  or  wise  to  do  so.  He  submitted  it 
he  said,  particularly  to  that  portion  of  the  convention, 
who  would  be  held  responsible  for  its  doings,  and  who 
would  in  a  political  point  of  view,  be  the  chief  sufferers 
by  a  failure  of  the  ratification  of  their  proceedings  by  the 
people.  He  warned  them  to  reflect  seriously  on  this  most 
interesting  matter.  He  directed  their  attention  to  the 
never  ending  feuds  and  bitter  controversies  which  would 
inevitably  grow  out  of  a  loss  of  the  amendments  adopted 
by  the  convention.  He  knew  well,  he  said,  how  apt  men 
placed  in  their  situation,  heated  by  discussions,  and 
sometime  pressed  by  indiscreet  friends,  were  to  suffer 
their  feelings  to  be  excited,  and  to  lead  them  into  measures 
which  their  sober  judgments  would  condemn.  It  was 
their  duty  to  rise  superior  to  all  such  feelings.  He  asked 
them  to  reflect  for  a  moment,  and  then  answer  him, 
whether,  when  they  left  home,  they  had  ever  heard  the 
least  intimation  from  their  constituents,  that  instead  of 
amending  the  constitution  upon  general  principles,  they 
were  to  descend  to  pulling  down  obnoxious  officers  through 
the  medium  of  the  convention  :  and  he  asked  them  wheth 
er  they  were  not  sensible  of  the  great  danger  of  surprising 


200  LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

the  public  at  this  advanced  stage  of  the  session,  when,  the 
greatest  uneasiness  already  prevailed,  by  a  measure  so  un 
expected.  There  was,  he  said,  no  necessity  for,  or  pro 
priety  in,  this  measure.  They  had  already  thrown  wide 
open  the  doors  of  approach  to  unworthy  incumbents.  They 
had  altered  the  impeaching  power;  from  two  thirds  to  a 
bare  majority.  They  had  provided  also  that  the  Chancel 
lor  and  Judges  should  be  removable  by  the  vote  of  two 
thirds  of  one  branch,  and  a  bare  majority  of  the  other. 
The  judicial  officer  who  could  not  be  reached  in  either  of 
those  ways,  ought  not  to  be  touched.  There  were  there 
fore  no  public  reasons  for  the  measure,  and  if  not,  then 
why  are  we  to  adopt  it?  Certainly  not  from  personal 
feelings.  If  personal  feelings  could  or  ought  to  influence 
us,  against  the  individual  who  wrould  probably  be  most 
affected  by  the  adoption  of  this  amendment,  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren  supposed  that  he  above  all  others,  would  be  excused 
for  indulging  them.  He  could  with  truth  say,  that  he 
had  through  his  whole  life  been  assailed  from  'that  quar 
ter,  with  hostility,  political,  professional,  and  personal — 
hostility  Avhich  had  been  the  most  keen,  active  and  un 
yielding.  But,  sir,  said  he,  am  I  on  that  account,  to  avail 
myself  of  my  situation  as  a  representative  of  the  people, 
sent  here  to  make  a  constitution  for  them  and  their  pos 
terity,  and  to  indulge  my  individual  resentments  in  the 
prostration  of  my  private  and  political  adversary.  He  ho 
ped  it  was  unnecessary  for  him  to  say,  that  he  should  for 
ever  despise  himself  if  he  could  be  capable  of  such  con 
duct.  He  also  hoped  that  that  sentiment  was  not  confin 
ed  to  himself  alone,  and  that  the  convention  would  not 
ruin  its  character  and  credit,  by  proceeding  to  such  ex 
tremities."* 

A  similar  magnanimity  of  spirit  has  controlled 
the  whole  public  life  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  of  which 
a  memorable  example  occurred  at  a  later  period, 
in  reference  to  Mr.  Clay's  nomination  as  secretary 
of  state.  It  has  never  been  reciprocated,  how- 
er,  by  his  political  opponents. 

*  Debates  in  the  New  York  Convention,  p.  525. 


CHAPTER    X  f . 


Mu.  VAN  BUKEN'S  course  in  the  Senate  of  Ike  United 
Slates.  His  views  on  the  subject  of  Imprisonment 
for  Debt. 

It  will  be  our  duty,  now,  to  accompany  Mr. 
Van  Buren  to  a  more  dignified  and  broader  thea 
tre  of  action.  On  the  third  day  of  December, 
1821,  he  took  his  seat  as  Senator  of  the  United 
States,  having  been  appointed  by  the  Legislature, 
of  New  York,  the  February  preceding.  He  was, 
at  that  time  just  entering  upon  the  thirty-ninth 
year  of  his  age. 

We  have,  thus  far,  followed  him  through  a  labo 
rious  course  of  political  and  professional  duties,  in 
his  native  state,  for  more  than  twenty  years.  We 
have  seen  him  advancing  in  his  professional  career, 
first  to  the  capital  of  his  county,  and  then  of  the 
state,  and  finally,  filling  for  several  years,  her 
highest  law  office.  We  have  seen  the  progress  of 
his  political  ascendency,  first  in  his  native  village, 


202  THE  LIFE  OF 

then  in  the  county,  and  finally  throughout  this 
same  great  state.  We  have  seen  him  advance, 
by  industry  and  perseverance,  in  his  professional 
course  to  the  pinnacle  of  his  ambition,  in  despite  of 
manifold  disadvantages  and  discouraging  obstacles. 
We  have  seen  the  same  indefatigable  exertion,  the 
same  unwearied  zeal,  the  same  consistency  and  in 
tegrity  of  character,  winning  the  confidence  of  the 
political  party  to  which  he  adhered,  until  he  had 
gained  a  share  in  their  affections  and  a  claim  on 
their  grateful  respect,  which  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of 
any  man. 

His  progress  had  been  natural,  open  and  reason 
able  ;  the  consistent  result  of  honesty,  exertion 
and  talent.  It  is  true  his  laborious  and  extended 
legal  practice  had  furnished  him  with  resources  of 
learning,  and  readiness  in  argument,  which,  if  view 
ed  only  in  their  full  display,  at  the  moment  of  ma 
turity,  were  fitted  to  excite  admiration  and  surprize. 
So  also  his  long  study  of  the  human  heart,  his  great 
experience  in  political  matters,  and  his  pre-eminent 
good  sense  had  given  him  a  power  of  interpreting 
the  popular  will,  and  of  uniting,  harmonizing  and 
directing  the  feelings  of  those  with  whom  he  acted, 
which  few  men  ever  attained  to. 

No  wonder,  therefore,  that  superficial  observers, 
looking  only  at  the  admirable  results  of  his  riper 
experience,  and  neglecting  the  laborious  discipline 
by  which  he  had  attained  them,  ascribed  his  unri 
valled  political  ascendency,  and  the  firmness  of  his 
hold  upon  the  affections  of  the  people,  to  some  se 
cret,  magical  influence,  some  mysterious  and  un- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREJV.  203 

discoverable  spell,  entirely  foreign  to  the  true 
cause. 

This  shallow  prejudice  was  much  strengthened 
when  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  seen  to  rise,  at  his  first 
entrance  into  the  Legislature  of  the  nation,  to  the 
same  commanding  influence  he  had  long  maintain 
ed  in  the  councils  of  his  native  state.  They  who 
ascribed  his  success  at  home,  not  to  the  laborious 
exertion  of  superior  talent  during  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  but  to  intrigue,  artifice  and  corrup 
tion,  looked  forward  to  his  early  confusion  and 
defeat  in  the  United  States  Senate  :  an  assembly 
in  which  ability,  only,  can  secure  influence  and  re 
spect. 

But  at  this  point  also,  as  at  every  other  in  his 
political  career,  his  enemies  were  doomed  to  dis 
appointment.  His  varied  intellectual  resources, 
natural  and  acquired,  began  to  command  their  ap 
propriate  respect,  almost  upon  his  first  entrance 
into  the  Senate  ;  and  before  the  termination  of  the 
first  session  of  his  service,  he  had  established,  in 
that  high  body,  which  ever  embraces  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  in  the  nation,  a  reputation 
surpassed  by  few  of  its  oldest  members. 

To  furnish  a  complete  view  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
services  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  during 
the  seven  years  he  was  a  member,  would  be  to 
transcribe  a  large  portion  of  its  proceedings.  I 
shall,  therefore,  classify  as  far  as  possible,  the  va 
rious  subjects  upon  which  his  opinions  were  ex 
pressed,  during  his  service  in  the  Senate,  and  shall 
endeavor,  by  extracting  some  portions  of  his 


204  THE  LIFE  OF 

speeches  and  by  a  careful  analysis  of  others,  to 
present  an  accurate  view  of  his  political  sentiments 
on  each  important  question,  and  to  exhibit,  with 
clearness,  to  the  reader,  the  leading  features  of  his 
senatorial  career. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  committee  on  finance,  and  also  of 
the  committee  on  the  judiciary.  Shortly  after 
wards,  he  became  chairman  of  the  latter  commit 
tee,  a  position  which  he  retained  during  his  contin 
uance  in  the  Senate.  His  first  remarks  in  the 
Senate  were  on  the  claim  of  the  Marquis  De  Mai- 
son  Rogue  :  a  claim  which  involved  the  title  to 
about  half  a  million  acres  of  the  public  lands. 
This  claim  was  discussed  on  the  12th  of  February, 
1822.  Mr.  Van  Buren  spoke  nearly  two  hours, 
but  the  discussion  involved  too  few  general  princi 
ples  to  justify  an  extract  from  his  speech.  On  this 
debate  the  National  Intelligencer  remarked  :  "  the 
debate  was  able,  and,  in  the  course  of  it,  two  of 
the  new  members,  Mr.  Southard  and  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  came  forward  with  a  display  of  much  tal- 
-ent  and  with  considerable  effect,  though  on  oppo 
site  sides."  During  the  same  session  he  made  re 
marks,  among  other  topics,  on  the  apportionment 
bill ;  on  the  French  land  claims  in  Louisiana,  and 
the  settlement  of  difficulties  between  the  states ; 
-and  on  paying  salaries  to  public  officers  who  were 
indebted  to  the  United  States. 

At  an  early  period  of  his  public  service^  as  a 
member  of  the  Senate  of  New  York,  he  introduc 
ed  into  that  assembly,  a  bill  to  abolish  imprison- 


MARTIN  VAN   BITREN.  205 

ment  for  debt,  except  in  cases  of  fraud,  malicious 
injury,  or  gross  breach  of  trust.  He  strenuously 
brought  forward  this  proposition  several  years  in 
succession,  and  finally  obtained  for  it  the  approba 
tion  of  the  Senate.  It  however  failed  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  The  principle  was  eventually 
incorporated  into  the  jurisprudence  of  New  York, 
hut  not  until  many  years  after  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
removal  into  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

In  compliance  with  his  views  entertained  at  this 
Dearly  period,  so  soon  as  he  became  a  member  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  he  co-operated,  actively, 
with  Richard  M.  Johnson,  in  attempting  to  ingraft 
the  same  great  principle  upon  the  jurisprudence  of 
the  United  States. 

Accordingly,  we  find  him  as  early  as  January? 
1823,  taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  bill  proposed  by 
Col.  Johnson,  and  offering  sundry  amendments 
and  modifications  which  were  likely  to  do  away 
objections  to  the  measure  and  improve  its  practical 
operation. 

On  the  16th  of  March,  1824,  two  of  these 
amendments  were  discussed;  one  allowed  the 
debtor  to  be  held  to  bail,  on  proof,  by  two  witnesses 
that  he  was  about  to  leave  the  country  ;  the  other 
provided  that  upon  charge  of  fraudulent  conceal 
ment  of  property,  the  fact  was  to  be  tried  by  a 
jury,  and  if  found  to  be  true,  execution  was  to  is 
sue  against  the  body  of  the  creditor. 

In  connection  writh  this  subject  he  made  a  few 
remarks,  the  substance  of  which,  as  imperfectly  re- 
18 


206         LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

ported,  has  already  been  laid  before  the  public. 
Having  on  a  former  occasion  introduced  an  expli 
cit  declaration  of  his  views  on  this  subject,  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  repeat  them  at  the  present 
time. 


CHAPTER     XII. 


MB.  VAN  BUREN  proposes  to  amend  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  so  as  to  keep  the  choice  of  President 
and  Vice  President  from  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  Extracts  from  his  speech  on  that  subject. 

The  reader's  attention  will  next  be  directed  to 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  views  with  regard  to  the  mode 
of  electing  the  President  and  Vice  President  of 
the  United  States. 

In  his  action  on  this  subject,  he  appears  to  have 
set  out  with  the  conviction  that  there  was  the  ut 
most  necessity  of  removing  the  election,  if  possi 
ble,  from  the  House  of  Representatives.  By  the 
present  system,  when  the  election  comes  into  the 
house,  the  small  states  are  on  an  equality  with  the 
large  ;  and  this  is  the  source  of  their  objection  to 
an  amendment  referring  the  ultimate  choice  to 
electors.  To  meet  the  surrender  of  this  right,  on 
the  part  of  the  small  states,  Mr.  Van  Buren  pro 
posed  to  divide  the  states  into  as  many  districts  as 


•208  THE  L1FF  OK 

its  number  of  electors  ;  each  district  to  choose  an 
elector ;  the  electors  to  vote  for  President  and 
Vice  President,  and  in  case  of  no  choice,  upon  be 
ing  again  convened  by  the  President,  to  vote  for 
one  of  the  two  highest  candidates,  and  then  in 
case  of  no  choice,  the  election  to  go  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  as  at  present. 

This  proposition  was,  in  substance,  sustained  by 
Mr.  Van  Buren  through  three  successive  sessions 
of  Congress.  As  the  subject  is  still  in  agitation 
and  is  among  the  most  important  upon  which  pub 
lic  opinion  is  to  be  formed,  an  extract  from  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  remarks  at  the  time  of  introducing  his 
amendment  will  here  be  subjoined. 

"  Having  said  this  much  upon  that  branch  of  the  subject, 
Mr.  Van  Buren  would  proceed  to  state  briefly  another 
point,  in  which  the  proposition  he  offered  differed  essen 
tially  from  the  others  proposed,  and  in  which  difference 
was  involved  a  principle  in  the  government,  as  important, 
in  his  view,  as  any  which  had  for  some  time  been  discus 
sed  on  that  floor.  In  doinsj  so,  it  was  a  subject  of  gratifi 
cation  to  him,  that  this  principle  had  no  reference  to  the 
relative  and  conflicting  interest  of  the  states  in  the  confed 
eracy,  but  looked  equally  to  the  welfare  and  security  of 
all.  To  a  correct  understanding  of  the  point,  he  wished 
to  present,  it  became  necessary  to  take  a  brief  view  of  the 
principle  upon,  and  the  circumstances  under  which,  our 
present  form  of  government  was  established.  Under  the 
articles  of  confederation,  the  representation  of  each  state 
in  the  General  Government  was  equal.  The  Union  was 
in  all  respects  purely  federal,  a  league  of  sovereign  states 
upon  equal  terms.  To  remedy  certain  defects,  by  sup 
plying  certain  powers,  the  convention  which  framed  the 
present  constitution  was  called.  That  convention,  it  is 
now  well  known,  was  immediately  divided  into  parties, 
on  the  interesting  question  of  the  extent  of  power  to  be 
given  to  the  new  governments  ;  whether  it  should  be  fed 
eral  or  national ' ',  whether  dependent  upon  or  indrpen- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

dent  of  the  state  governments.  It  is  equally  well  known 
that  that  point,  after  having  several  times  arrested  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention,  and  threatened  a  dissolu 
tion  of  the  confederation,  subsequently  divided  the  people 
of  the  states  on  the  question  of  ratification.  He  might 
add,  that  with  the  superadded  question  of  what  powers 
have  been  given  by  the  constitution  to  the  federal  gov 
ernment,  to  the  agitation  which  the  feelings  which  sprung 
up  in  the  convention  greatly  contributed,  it  had  continu 
ed  to  divide  the  people  of  this  country  down  to  the  pre 
sent  period.  The  party  in  the  convention  in  favor  of  a 
more  energetic  government,  being  unable  to  carry,  or,  if 
able,  unwilling  to  hazard  the  success  of  the  plan  with  the 
states,  a  middle  course  was  agreed  upon.  That  was,  that 
the  government  should  be  neither  federal  nor  national, 
but  a  mixture  of  both.  That  of  the  Legislative  Depart 
ment,  one  branch,  the  power  of  representation  should  be 
wholly  national,  and  the  other,  the  Senate,  wholly  fede 
ral.  That  in  the  choice  of  the  Executive,  both  interests 
should  be  regarded,  and  that  the  Judicial  should  be  or 
ganized  bv  the  other  two.  But,  to  quiet  effectually  the 
apprehensions  of  the  advocates  for  the  rights  and  interest 
of  the  states,  it  was  provided  that  the  General  Govern 
ment  should  be  made  entirely  dependent  for  its  continu 
ance,  on  the  will  and  pleasure  of  the  state  governments. 
Hence,  it  was  decided  that  the  house  of  Representatives 
should  be  apportioned  among  the  states,  with  reference 
to  their  population,  and  chosen  by  ihe  people  ;  and  power 
was  given  to  Congress  to  regulate  and  secure  their  choice, 
independent  of,  and  beyond  the  control  of  the  state  go 
vernments.  That  the  Senate  should  be  chosen  exclu 
sively  by  the  State  Legislatures,  and  that  the  choice  of 
electors  of  President  and  Vice  President,  although  the 
principle  of  their  appointment  was  established  by  the  con 
stitution,  should  in  all  respects,  except  the  time  of  their 
appointment  and  of  their  meeting,  be  under  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  states.  The 
scheme  of  government  thus  formed,  was  submitted  to  the 
people  of  the  respective  states,  through  their  Legislatures, 
for  ratification.  For  a  season  its  ratification  was  warmly 
opposed  in  almost  every  state.  Although  the  control  over 
the  choice  of  but  one  branch,  of  one  department  of  the 
government,  was  vested  in  Congress,  danger  to  the  rights 
of  the  states  was  everywhere  apprehended,  and  the  ques 
tion  of  ratification  of  the  constitution  rendered  extremely 
doubtful. 

18* 


210  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  To  stern  this  torrent  oi'  opposition,  the  most  distin 
guished  commentators  on  the  proposed  plan  (the  authors 
of  the  Federalist)  placed  strongly  and  truly  before  the 
people  of  the  stales,  the  fact  of  the  dependence  of  the 
General  upon  the  state  governments,  and  the  constitutional 
right  of  those  governments,  or  even  a  majority  of  them, 
if  the  power  they  had  conferred  should  be  abused,  to  dis 
continue  the  new  government  by  withholding  its  Senate 
and  Chief  Magistrate.  Among  other  things  they  said — 
'the  state  governments  may  be  regarded  as  constituent 
and  essential  parts  of  the  Federal  Government,  whilst  the 
latter  is  no  wise  essential  to  the  operation  or  organization 
of  their  power.  Without  the  intervention  of  the  State 
Legislatures,  the  President  of  the  United  States  can 
not  be  elected  at  all.  They  must  in  all  cases  have  a  great 
share  in  his  appointment,  and  will  perhaps,  in  most  cases 
themselves  determine  it.  The  Senate  will  be  elected 
absolutely  and  exclusively  by  the  state  Legislatures. 
Even  the  House  of  Representatives,  though  drawn  imme 
diately  from  the  people,  will  be  chosen  very  much  under 
the  influence  of  that  class  of  men  whose  influence  over 
the  people  obtains  for  themselves  an  election  into  the  state 
Legislatures.  Thus  each  of  the  principal  branches  of 
the  Federal  Government  will  owe  its  virtue  more  or  less 
to  the  favor  of  the  state  governments  and  must  conse 
quently  feel  a  dependence  which  will  be  much  more  like 
ly  to  beget  a  disposition  too  obsequious  than  too  over-? 
bearing  toward  them.'  The  ratification  by  a  sufficient 
number  of  the  states  was  obtained.  On  reference,  how 
ever,  to  the  proceedings  of  the  state  conventions,  it  will 
be  seen,  that  in  several  of  the  states,  the  control  by  Con 
gress,  over  the  choice  of  Representatives  merely,  was 
strongly  remonstrated  against.  That  amendments  were 
proposed  for  its  qualification,  by  the  states  of  South  Caro 
lina,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  Rhode  Island  and  New  York.  That  most  of 
them  resolved  that  it  should  be  a  standing  instruction  to 
their  delegates  in  Congress,  to  endeavor  to  effect  that  and 
other  amendments  proposed.  The  proposition  of  the  gen 
tleman  from  New  Jersey,  to  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  aU 
luded,  would,  if  adopted,  break  an  important  link  in  the 
chain  of  dependency  of  the  general  upon  the  state  gov 
ernments.  It  would  surrender  to  the  General  Government 
all  control  over  the  election  of  President  and  Vice  Presi 
dent,  by  placing  the  choice  of  electors  on  the  same  footing 
with  that  of  Representatives.  It  would  at  this  time  be 


^MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  211 

prematare  to  go  into  a  minute  examination  of  the  provi 
sions  of  the  resolution  alluded  to,  to  show  that  such  would 
be  its  effects.  Upon  examination,  it  would  be  found  that 
such  would  be  its  construction.  That  it  does  in  sub 
stance  what  another  proposition,  upon  their  table,  origi 
nating  in  the  other  house,  does  in  words.  But  even  was 
there  doubt  upon  that  subject,  that  doubt  should  be  re 
moved  by  an  express  provision,  reserving  to  the  states 
their  present  control  over  the  election,  except  as  to  what 
is  particularly  provided  for  in  the  resolution  now  proposed. 
If  it  is  fit  to  take  from  the  states  their  control  over  the 
choice  of  electors  of  President  and  Vice  President,  and 
o-ive  it  to  the  Federal  Government,  it  would  be  equally 
proper,  under  the  popular  idea  of  giving  their  election  to 
the  people,  to  divide  the  states  into  districts  for  the  choice 
of  Senators,  as  was  proposed  in  the  convention,  and  give 
to  Congress  the  control  over  their  election  also.  If  the 
system°be  once  broken  in  upon  in  this  respect,  the  other 
measure  will  naturally  follow,  and  we  will  then  have 
what  was  so  much  dreaded  by  those  who  have  gone  be 
fore  us,  and  what  he  feared  "would  be  so  much  regretted 
by  those  who  come  after — a  completely  consolidated  gov 
ernment — a  government  in  which  the  state  governments 
would  be  no  otherwise  known  or  felt  than  as  it  became 
necessary  to  control  them.  To  all  this,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
was  opposed.  He  was  so,  because  it  was  a  matter  not 
necessary  or  fitly  connected  with  the  subject  under  con 
sideration  ;  that  being  a  question  between  the  states  them 
selves,  or  to  their  relative  interest — a  question  which 
might  and  ought  to  be  settled,  and  leave  their  relation  to 
the°Federal  Government  as  it  stands  at  present.  The 
other  is  a  question  between  the  states,  collectively,  and 
Federal  Government,  affecting  most  materially  the  rela 
tion  they  now  bear  to  each  other.  But,  even  if  it  were  pre 
sented  under  different  circumstances,  he  would  oppose  it. 
Because,  however  ardent  his  attachment  to  the  Federal 
Government,  and  however  anxious  he  mi^ht  be  to  sustain 
it,  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  given  to  it  by  the  consti 
tution — and,  in  that  respect,  he  would,  he  trusted,  go  as 
far  as  any  man  ought  to  go — he  was  unwilling  to  destroy 
or  even  to  release  its  dependence  on  the  state  govern 
ments.  At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  federal  consti 
tution,  it  was  a  question  of  much  speculation  and  discus 
sion,  which  of  the  two  governments  would  be  most  in 
danger  from  the  accumulation  of  influence  by  the  opera 
tion  of  the  powers  distributed  by  the  constitution.  That 


THE  LIFE  OF 

discussion  was  founded  on  the  assumption  that  they  were, 
in  several  respects,  rival  powers,  and  that  such  powers 
would  always  be  found  in  collision.  The  best  lights 
which  could  then  be  thrown  upon  the  subject,  were  de 
rived  from  the  examples  afforded  by  the  fates  of  several 
of  the  governments  of  the  old  world,  which  were  deemed 
to  be,  in  some  respects,  similar  to  ours.  But  the  govern 
ments  in  question  having  operated  upon,  and  been  ad 
ministered  by,  people  whose  habits,  characters,  tempers, 
and  conditions,  were  essentially  different  from  ours;  the 
inferences  to  be  derived  from  that  source  were,  at  best, 
unsatisfactory.  Mr.  Van  Buren  thought  that  experience, 
the  only  unerring  criterion  by  which  matters  of  this  de 
scription  could  be  tested,  had  settled  for  us  the  general 
point  of  the  operation  of  the  powers  conferred  by  the  con 
stitution  upon  the  relative  strength  and  influence  of  the 
respective  governments.  It  was,  in  his  judgment  suscep 
tible  of  entire  demonstration,  that  the  federal  constitution 
had  worked  a  gradual,  if  not  an  undue,  increase  of  the 
strength  and  control  of  the  General  Government,  and  a 
correspondent  reduction  of  the  influence,  and  consequent 
ly,  of  the  respectability  of  the  state  governments.  The 
evidence  in  support  of  this  position  was  abundant,  and,  if 
the  matter  should  come  under  full  discussion,  could  be 
readily  afforded.  He  thought,  further,  that  existing  causes, 
which  were  every  day  gaining  force,  would,  for  the  future 
more  rapidly  increase  that  operation.  He  considered  the 
qualified  dependence  of  the  General  upon  the  state  govern 
ments,  as  their  strong  arm  of  defence  to  protect  them 
against  future  abuses.  Under  that  view  of  the  subject, 
he  was  opposed  to  so  material  a  change  of  the  present 
condition  of  the  respective  governments,  as  would  be  pro 
duced  by  the  amendment  to  which  he  objected.  He  was 
in  favor  of  leaving  matters  in  that  respect,  as  they  stood. 
Under  this  impression  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  prepared  a 
resolution  which  avoided  the  defect  attaching  to  that  of 
the  gentleman  from  New  Jersey ;  requiring  the  contem 
plated  division  of  the  states  into  districts,  to  be  co-exten 
sive  with  the  number  of  electors  instead  of  Representa 
tives,  and,  at  the  same  time,  secured  the  great  object  up 
on  which  he  had  been  commenting." 

The  proposition  to  amend  met  with  but  little  fa 
vor,  in  the  house  of  Representatives,  and   on  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUIlKiV 


Hth  of  May  1826,  we  find  Mr.  Van  Buren  reluc 
tantly  consenting  to  its  postponement  to  another 
session,  but  pledging  himself  to  persist  in  sustain 
ing  it  in  tho  following  words  : 

"Mr.  Van  Buren  said,  he  would  if  his  life  was  spared, 
unite  his  exertions  with  those  of  the  Chairman,  to  press 
the  matter  to  a  favorable  conclusion  early  in  the  next  ses 
sion  ;  and  notwithstanding  that  the  question  would  have 
to  be  decided  by  the  same  house  of  Representatives,  he 
would  do  so  in  full  confidence,  that  their  labors  would  be 
crowned  with  complete  success.  He  would  briefly  state 
his  reasons  for  that  belief.  He  was  satisfied  that  there 
was  no  one  point  on  which  the  people  of  the  United 
States  were  more  perfectly  united,  than  upon  the  proprie 
ty,  not  to  say,  indispensible  necessity,  of  taking  the  elec 
tion  of  President  from  the  house  of  Representatives. 
The  experieDce  under  the  Constitution,  as  it  stands,  as 
well  formerly  as  recently,  had  produced  that  impression, 
and  he  considered  the  vote  of  the  house  of  Representa 
tives  as  the  strongest  manifestation  of  its  existence.  In 
that  respect,  it  would  be  of  value,  but  beyond  that,  it  could 
produce  no  results.  Although  it  could,  he  thought,  bo 
satisfactorily  shown,  that  the  small  states  would,  if  noth 
ing  more  was  done,  be  better  off  than  they  are  under  the 
constitution,  as  it  stands,  still  all  experience  has  shown 
that  they  do  not  think  so.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe 
that  they  will  ever  consent  to  give  up  the  power  they 
now  have  without  an  equivalent,  without  a  resort  to  the 
principle  upon  which  the  constitution  was  founded,  that 
of  compromise.  The  equivalent  with  which  they  would 
be  satisfied,  with  which  they  ought  to  be  satisfied,  is  the 
breaking  up  of  the  consolidated  strength  of  the  large 
states,  by  the  establishment  of  the  district  system.  It  is 
in  vain,  therefore,  for  gentlemen  to  be,  or  to  affect  to  be, 
in  favor  of  taking  the  election  from  the  house,  unless  they 
are  willing  to  do  that  also,  without  which  the  leading 
object  connot  be  effected  ;  without  that,  all  is  empty  pro 
fession.  We  must,  for  the  purpose  of  the  election,  make 
all  the  slates  of  the  same  size,  which  would  be  the  effect 
of  the  district  system,  and  then,  and  then  only,  can  we 
give  the  election  of  President  and  Vice  President  to  the 
people,  preserve  the  purity  of  the  system,  and  in  reality, 
restore  the  balance  ot  power  among  the  states  to  the  foot- 


214          LIFE  OF   MARTIN  VAN  BURRN. 

ing  on  which  it  stood  at  the  adoption  of  the  constitution. 
Believing  that  the  desire  to  take  the  election  from  the 
house  had  sunk  deep  in  the  public  mind,  knowing  the  all 
powerful  agency  which  public  sentiment  fortunately  had 
in  our  .government,  he  had  the  strongest  hopes  that  the 
correct  sentiment  which  now  happily,  existed  upon  this 
one  point  would  be  able  to  carry  the  other  with  it.  He 
hoped,  and  believed,  that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
would,  in  the  coming  recess,  in  all  constitutional  forms, 
express  their  opinion  upon  this  subject.  If  they  did  so, 
and  if  they  really  desire  the  election  of  their  Chief  Ma 
gistrate,  and  were  true  to  themselves  another  session 
would  not  pass  by,  without  an  opportunity  being  furnish 
ed  to  the  states  to  express  their  opinion  upon  this  most 
interesting  subject ;  a  subject  with  which,  in  his  opinion, 
the  future  welfare  of  the  country,  and  the  liberties  of  its 
citizens,  were  more  closely  connected  than  any  other 
which  had  been  agitated  in  Congress  since  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution." 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  proposed  amendment  of  the  Judiciary 
system  of  the  United  States.  His  speech  on  the  Ju 
diciary  system. 

As  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  Judiciary, 
that  department  received  a  large  share  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  attention  and  engrossed  a  large  amount  of 
his  labors.  Various  bilis  were  reported,  at  differ 
ent  times,  of  which  the  object  was  to  extend  the 
benefit  of  the  Circuit  Courts  to  the  western  states. 
Two  great  principles  were  chiefly  contended  for 
in  the  Senate ;  one  went  to  establish  District  Courts 
to  the  necessary  extent,  to  exercise  the  functions 
of  the  present  Circuit  Courts  ;  and  to  relieve  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  from  any  other 
duties  than  holding  a  revisory  court  in  Washing 
ton.  The  other  plan  proposed  to  add  to  the  num 
ber  of  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  require 
them  to  travel  on  the  several  circuits,  as  at  pre 
sent. 


THE  LIFE  OF 

The  first  bill  reported  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  as 
Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  on  the  llth 
of  March  1824,  was  on  the  former  principle.  It 
did  not,  however,  meet  favor  in  the  Senate,  and  if 
it  ever  had  the  approbation  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  he 
afterwards  became  decidedly  averse  to  a  separa 
tion  of  the  Supreme  Court  from  the  Circuits.  On 
the  9th  of  January  1826,  he  reported,  from  the 
judiciary  committee,  a  bill  which  established  three 
new  circuits  and  added  three  new  judges  to  the 
Supreme  Court.  His  speech  in  explanation  and 
support  of  this  bill,  delivered  in  the  Senate,  on  the 
7th  of  April  following,  is  one  of  the  most  elaborate 
and  eloquent  to  be  found  in  the  debates  of  that 
body.  In  the  outset  of  this  truly  great  speech,  he 
states,  with  his  usual  distinctness  and  brevity,  the 
necessity  of  some  alteration  in  the  existing  system  * 
This  was  embraced  under  three  heads. 

1st.  The  great  accumulation  of  business  in  the 
Supreme  Court : 

2d.  The  unfinished  business  in  the  Circuit  com 
posed  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  : 

3d.  The  exclusion  of  six  states,  viz.  Illinois,  Mis 
souri,  Indiana,  Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Louisia 
na,  from  the  benefits  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

These  positions  were  illustrated  by  a  most  impos 
ing  array  of  facts,  collected  with  great  industry 
and  arranged  in  the  most  lucid  and  forcible  order. 

After  thus  exhibiting  the  evil  to  be  remedied, 
and  commenting  upon  the  intrinsic  difficulties 
which  attended  every  alteration  of  the  present  sys 
tem,  he  entered  into  a  full  examination  of  the  va- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  217 

rious  remedies  proposed.  He  strenuously  object 
ed  to  the  schemes  which  involved  a  separation  of 
the  Supreme  Court  from  the  Circuits ;  as  it  would 
withdraw  them  from  the  power  of  public  opinion, 
a  power  which  he  characterized  "  as  the  most 
honest  and  best  of  all  powers,"  and  would  render 
the  court  an  appendage  of  the  national  government, 
in  the  highest  degree  dangerous  to  the  states.  The 
attention  of  the  reader  is  earnestly  requested  to 
the  following  extracts  from  this  speech  ;  they  de 
pict  the  enormous  powers  of  the  Supreme  Court 
and  its  constant  tendency  to  amplify  its  jurisdic 
tion,  in  the  clearest  colors ;  at  the  same  time,  the 
tone  of  remarks  is  free  from  asperity,  and  charac 
terized  by  great  respect  for  the  important  tribunal 
whose  functions  were  under  examination.  The 
speaker's  first  object  is  to  show  the  impolicy  of 
separating  the  Supreme  Court  from  the  Circuits. 

"By  the  present  Judiciary  act  it  is  provided,  '  that  the 
laws  of  the  several  states,  except  where  the  constitution, 
treaties,  or  statutes  of  the  United  States,  shall  otherwise 
require  or  provide,  shall  be  regarded  as  rules  of  decision 
in  trials  at  common  law,  in  courts  of  the  United  States, 
in  cases  where  they  apply.' 

"  In  many,  if  not  most,  of  the  controverted  cases  be 
tween  individuals,  of  which  the  Federal  Courts  derive 
jurisdiction  from  the  character  of  the  parties,  the  titles 
under  which  they  claim,  or  from  other  sources,  the  local 
or  state  law  forms  the  rule  of  decision.  An  intimate 
knowledge  of  that  is,  therefore,  an  indispensable  qualifi 
cation  for  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  difficulty 
of  acquiring  and  retaining  it  is  infinitely  greater  than 
would,  on  first  impression,  be  supposed.  Of  the  twenty- 
four  states,  there  are  not  two  whose  laws,  affecting  the 
rights  of  persons  and  property,  are  in  all  respects,  the 
same.  Between  many  the  differences  are  as  great  as  is 
usual  between  s-tates  on  different  continents.  Each  ha? 
19 


218  THE  LIFE  OF 

an  established  system,  wholly  unconnected  with  its  sister 
states.  The  system  is  composed  of  portions  of  the  En 
glish  common  law,  adopted  with  various  modifications 
and  alterations,  of  more  or  less  of  the  principle  of  the 
English  equity  system,  of  the  statutes  of  the  states,  and 
the  constructions  which  have,  from  time  to  time,  been 
put  upon  them  by  the  state  judicatories.  It  is  true  that 
these  are  all  to  be  found  in  books,  but  we  well  know  how 
little  apt  men  are,  when  they  can  avoid  it,  to  study  sub 
jects  of  this  description,  and  men  of  experience  in  these 
things  know  the  extreme  difficulty,  not  to  say  impractica 
bility,  of  making  one's  self  at  all  familiar  with  them  in 
any  other  way  than  by  actual  practice  in  the  courts,  either 
in  examining  them  for  argument,  or  in  deciding  them 
from  day  to  day. 

"  There  is  another  consideration  belonging  to  this 
branch  of  the  subject,  entitled  to  great  weight.  It  is  im 
possible,  with  the  best  intention  on  the  part  of  the  execu 
tive  branch  of  the  government,  to  avoid  bad  appointments. 
Influence  and  favoritism  sometimes  prevail,  and  to  a  want 
of  correct  information  the  government  is  always  exposed. 
Incompetent  men,  therefore,  will  sometimes  be  appoint 
ed.  If  confined  to  the  discharge  of  term  duties  only,  the 
country  may  be  saddled  with  them  during  their  whole 
lives.  They  might  assent  or  dissent  at  terms,  and  the 
kindness  of  their  brethren,  and  their  respect  for  the 
character  of  the  court,  would  induce  them  to  do  as  the 
rest.  But  the  case  is  greatly  otherwise,  if  they  are  oblig 
ed  to  preside  at  Circuits,  to  discharge  their  high  duties  in 
the  face  of  the  people,  unaided  by  their  brethren  of  the 
bench.  There  is  a  power  in  public  opinion  in  this  coun 
try,  "  and  I  thank  God  for  it ;"  for  it  is  the  most  honest 
and  best  of  all  powers,  which  will  not  tolerate  an  incom 
petent  or  unworthy  man  to  hold  in  his  weak  or  wicked 
hands,  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
This  power  operates  alike  upon  the  government  and  the 
incumhent.  The  former  dare  not  disregard  it,  and  the 
latter  can  have  no  adequate  wish  that  they  should,  when 
he  once  knows  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held.  This 
public  ordeal,  therefore,  is  of  great  value  ;  in  my  opinion, 
much  more  so  than  what  has,  with  some  propriety,  been 
called  the  scare-crow  of  the  constitution,  the  power  of 
impeachment. 

"But  there  is  still  another  view  of  the  subject,  bearing, 
with  irresistible  force,  against  the  separation  of  the  justi 
ces  of  the  Supreme  Court,  under  any  circumstances,  from 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

the  Circuit  Courts,  and  against  the  adoption  of  any  sys 
tem,  which,  though  it  does  not  directly,  may,  ultimately, 
lead  to  that  result.  *  *  * 

"Hitherto,  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  have  re 
sided  in  the  states,  and  with  a  single  individual  excep 
tion,  within  their  respective  Circuits.  Before  the  act  of 
1802,  because  the  principal  part  of  their  business  was 
there  ;  since  1S02,  because  the  law  made  it  their  duty.  If 
other  provision  is  made  for  holding  the  Circuits,  the  whole 
business  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  would  be 
done  here,  and,  sooner  of  later,  they  would,  in  the  natu 
ral  course  of  things,  all  move  to,  and  permanently  reside 
at  the  seat  of  Government. 

"  From  that  result,  inferences,  of  a  contrary  character, 
but  uniting  in  deprecating  its  policy,  are  drawn.  Some 
think  they  see  in  it  danger  to  the  Court,  others  apprehend 
danger  from  the  Court.  In  my  judgment  both  are  right. 

"  It  has  been  justly  observed  elsewhere,  that  '  there  ex 
ists  not  upon  earth,  and  there  never  did  exist,  a  judicial 
tribunal  clothed  with  power  so  various  and  so  important, 
as  the  Supreme  Court.  *  *  * 

"Not  only  are  the  acts  of  the  National  Legislature  sub 
ject  to  its  review,  but  it  stands  as  the  umpire  between  the 
conflicting  powers  of  the  General  and  state  Governments. 
That  wide  field  of  debatable  ground  between  those  rival 
powers  is  claimed  to  be  subject  to  the  exclusive  and  ab 
solute  dominion  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  discharge 
of  this  solemn  duty  has  not  been  unfrequent,  and  certain 
ly,  not  uninteresting.  In  virtue  of  this  power,  we  have 
seen  it  holding  for  naught  the  statutes  of  powerful  states, 
which  had  received  the  deliberate  sanction,  not  only  of 
their  Legislatures,  but  of  their  highest  Judicatories,  com 
posed  of  men  of  venerable  years,  of  unsullied  purity,  and 
unrivalled  talents,  statutes,  on  the  faith  of  whicn  immense 
estates  had  been  invested,  and  the  inheritance  of  the  wid 
ow  and  the  orphan  were  suspended.  You  have  seen 
such  statutes  abrogated  by  the  decision  of  this  Court,  and 
those  who  had  confided  in  the  wisdom  and  power  of  the 
state  authorities,  plunged  in  irremediable  ruin.  Decisions, 
final  in  their  effect,  and  ruinous  in  ;heir  consequences. 
I  speak  of  the  power  of  the  Court,  not  the  correctness  or 
incorrectness  of  its  decisions.  With  that  we  have  here 
nothing  to  do. 

"  But  this  is  not  all.  It  net  9nly  sits  in  final  judgment 
upon  our  acts,  as  the  highest  legislative  body  known  to 
the  country ;  it  not  only  claims  to  be  the  absolute  arbiter 


THE  LIFE  OF 


between  the  federal  and  state  governments,  but  it  exer 
cises  the  same  great  power  between  the  respective  stales 
forming  this  great  confederacy,  and  their  own  citizens. 
By  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  states  are 
prohibited  from  passing-  'any  law  impairing'  the  obliga 
tion  of  contracts?  This  brief  provision  has  given  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme  Court  a  tremendous  sweep. 
Before  I  proceed  to  delineate  i's  tendency  and  character, 
I  will  take  leave  to  remark  upon  some  extraordinary  cir 
cumstances  in  relation  to  it.  We  all  know  the  severe 
scrutiny  to  which  the  constitution  was  exposed.  Some 
from  their  own  knowledge,  others  from  different  sources. 
We  know  with  what  jealousy,  with  what,  watchfulness, 
with  what  scrupulous  care  its  minutest  provisions  were 
examined,  discussed,  resisted,  and  supported,  by  those 
who  opposed,  and  ihose  who  advocated  its  ratification. 
But,  of  this  highly  consequential  provision,  this  provision 
which  carries  so  great  a  portion  of  all  that  is  valuable  in 
state  legislation  to  the  feet  of  the  federal  judiciary,  no 
complaints  were  heard,  no  explanations  asked,  no  re 
monstrances  made.  If  there  were,  they  have  escaped  my 
researches.  It  is  most  mysterious,  if  the  constitution 
was  then  understood,  as  it  now  is,  that  this  was  so.  An 
explanation  of  it  has  been  given,  how  correct  I  know 
not. 

"  The  difficulties  which  existed  between  us  and  Great 
Britain  relative  to  the  execution  of  the'  treaty  of  peace, 
are  known  to  all.  Upon  the  avowed  ground  of  retalia 
tion  for  the  refusal  of  England  to  comply  with  the  stipu 
lation  on  her  part,  laws  Avere  passed,  between  the  years 
1783  and  1788,  by  the  states  of  Virginia,  South  Carolina, 
Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  and  Georgia,  delaying  execu 
tion,  liberating  the  body  from  imprisonment  on  the  deliv 
ery  of  property,  and  admitting  execution  to  be  discharg 
ed  in  paper  money.  Although  those  laws  were  general  in 
their  tenn.3,  applicable  as  well  to  natives  as  to  foreigners, 
their  chief  operation  was  upon  the  British  creditors,  and 
such  was  the  leading  design  of  their  enactment.  England 
remonstrated  against  them  as  infractions  of  the  stipula 
tion  in  the  treaty,  that  creditors,  on  either  side,  should 
meet  with  no  impediments  to  the  recovery  of  the  full 
value,  in  sterling  money,  of  all  debts  previously  contract 
ed,  and  attempted  to  justify  the  glaring  violations  of  the 
treaty,  on  her  part,  on  that  ground.  An  animated  discus 
sion  took  place  between  the  federal  government  and 
Great  Britain,  and  between  the  former  and  the  stafps  iu 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

question,  upon  the  subject  of  the  laws  referred  to,  their 
character  and  effect.  It  was  during  this  time  that  the 
constitution  was  formed  and  ratified.  It  is  supposed  that 
the  difficulties,  thus  thrown  in  the  way  of  adjustment 
with  England,  through  the  acts  of  the  state  governments, 
suggested  the  insertion  in  the  constitution  of  the  provision 
in  question,  and  that  it  was  under  a  belief  that  its  chief 
application  would  be  to  the  evil  then  felt,  that  so  little 
notice  was  taken  of  the  subject. 

"If  it  be  true,  that  such  was  its  object,  and  such  its 
supposed  effect,  it  adds  another  arid  a  solemn  proof  to 
that  which  all  experience  has  testified,  of  the  danger  of 
adopting  general  provisions  for  the  redress  of  particular 
and  partial  evils.  But,  whatever  the  motives  that  led  to 
its  insertion,  or  the  cause  that  induced  so  little  observa 
tion  on  its  tendency,  the  fact  of  its  extensive  operation  is 
known  and  acknowledged.  The  prohibition  is  not  con 
fined  to  express  contracts,  but  includes  such  as  are  impli 
ed  by  law,  from  the  nature  of  the  transaction.  Any  one, 
conversant  with  the  usual  range  of  state  Legislation,  will, 
at  once,  see  how  small  a  portion  of  it  is  exempt,  under 
this  provision,  ftom  the  supervision  of  the  seven  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  practice  under  it  has  been 
in  accordance  with  what  should  have  been  anticipated. 

"  There  are  few  states  in  the  Union,  upon  whose  acts 
the  seal  of  condemnation  has  not,  from  time  to  time,  been 
placed  by  the  Supreme  Court.  The  sovereign  authori 
ties  of  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  New  York7  New  Jer 
sey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
Missouri,  Kentucky  and"  Ohio,  have,  in  turn,  been  rebuked 
and  silenced,  by  the  over-ruling  authority  of  this  Court.  I 
must  not  be  misunderstood,  sir,  as  complaining  of  the  ex 
ercise  of  this  jurisdiction  by  the  Supreme  Court,  or  to  pass 
upon  the  correctness  of  their  decisions.  The  authority 
has  been  given  to  them,  and  this  is  not  the  place  to  ques 
tion  its  exercise.  But  this  I  will  say,  that,  if  the  question 
of  conferring  it  was  now  presented  for  the  first  time,  I 
should  unhesitatingly  say,  that  the  people  of  the  states 
might  with  safety,  be"  left  to  their  own  Legislatures,  and 
the  protection  of  their  own  courts. 

"  Add  to  the  immense  powers  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
those  of  expounding  treaties,  so  far,  at  least,  as  they  bear 
upon  individuals,  citizens,  or  aliens,  of  deciding  contro 
versies  between  the  states  of  the  confederacy  themselves, 
and  between  the  citizens  of  the  different  states,  and  the 
justice  of  the  remark  will  not  be  questioned,  that  there 
19* 


222  THE  LIFE  OF 

is  no  known  judicial  power  so  transcendently  omnipotent 
as  that  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States! 

"  Let  us  now,  for  a  few  moments,  consider  the  influ 
ence  which  this  ought  to  have  upon  our  legislation.  It 
would  not  be  in  accordance  Avith  the  common  course  of 
nature  to  expect  that  such  mighty  powers  can  long  con 
tinue  to  be  exercised,  without  accumulating  a  weight  of 
prejudice  that  may,  one  day,  become  dangerous  to  an  in 
stitution  which  all  admit  to  be  of  inestimable  value.  It  is 
true,  as  has  elsewhere  been  said,  with  apparent  triumph, 
that  the  states,  whose  legislative  acts  have  successively 
fallen  under  the  interdiction  of  the  court,  have  excited 
little  or  no  sympathy  on  the  part  of  their  sister  states,  and 
after  struggling  with  the  giant  strength  of  the  Court  have 
submitted  to  their  fate.  But,  sir,  it  is  feared  that  this 
will  not  always  be  the  case.  Those  who  are  most  ardent 
in  their  devotion  to  this  branch  of  the  government,  know 
ing  the  feelings  produced  by  these  decisions  in  the  states 
affected  by  them,  sensible  that  those  feelings  are  rather 
smothered  than  abandoned,  upon  conviction  of  their  injus 
tice,  fear  that,  by  adding  another  and  another  state  to  the 
ranks  of  those  who  think  they  have  reason  to  complain, 
an  accumulation  of  prejudice  may  be  produced,  that  will 
threaten,  if  not  endanger,  the  safety  of  the  institution. 

:c  Seeing,  and  feeling,  and  fearing  this,  they,  with  wise 
and  patriotic  foresight,  wish  to  adopt  every  measure  which 
will  retain  and  increase,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  general 
confidence  in  the  Court,  and  to  avoid  such  as  may,  by 
possibility,  have  a  tendency  to  weaken  it.  No  reflecting 
man  can  doubt,  that  the  residence  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  the  states,  being  subject  in  their  per 
sons,  family,  and  estates,  to  the  laws  of  the  state,  portions 
of  their  families,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  members  of 
the  state  governments,  and  themselves  only  temporarily 
absent,  going  in  and  out  before  the  people  of  the  states,  and 
commanding  their  confidence  by  the  purity  of  their  lives, 
and  the  modesty  of  their  demeanor,  enforcing  and  ex 
pounding  their  own  decisions  in  the  face  of  the  different 
classes  of  the  community  at  the  Circuits,  and  in  free  and 
familiar  intercourse  with  those  who  have  such  great  in 
fluence  in  giving  a  proper  direction  to  public  opinion  on 
legal  subjects,  must  have  an  infinitely  greater  tendency 
to  enable  the  judges  to  sustain  themselves  in  the  honest 
discharge  of  their  high  duties,  than  if  they  were  cut  off 
from  all  connection  with  the  states.  Greater  than  if  they 
were  settled  in  this  metropolis,  and  to  the  great  mass  of 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  223 

the  people  of  the  states  unheard  and  unseen,  but  felt  in 
their  power,  through  the  remotest  borders  of  the  Union; 
and  how  felt,  sir?  Not  as  is  the  case  with  the  other  bran 
ches  of  the  government,  in  extending  favors,  in  munifi 
cent  grants  and  all  the  various  measures  of  relief, — no, 
sir,  always  on  one  side,  and  not  unfrequently  on  all  sides, 
their  measures  are  regarded  as  harsh  and  vindictive. 
Their  business  is  to  punish  the  guilty,  to  restrain  the  vi 
cious,  to  curb  power,  and  to  correct  its  excess.  Such  acts 
are  necessary  to  the  well  being,  to  the  very  existence  of 
society,  but  are  not  those  which  have  the  strongest  ten 
dency  to  conciliate  popular  favor.  It  is  to  effect  this  ob 
ject,  in  part,  that  the  friends  of  the  bill,  as  I  cannot  but 
think  wisely,  so  zealously  resist  every  measure  which  will 
or  may  separate  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  from 
The  Circuits,  and  bring  them  to  this  city. 

':  But  this  is  not  the  only,  or  the  most  interesting  view, 
which  may  be  taken  of  the  subject.  The  political  cha 
racter  of  the  Court,  so  far  as  it  becomes  its  duty  to  pass 
on  the  laws  of  the  respective  states,  affecting  personal 
rights,  has  already  been  referred  to.  A  few  cursory  ob 
servations  upon  the  character  and  tendency  of  its  jurisdic 
tion,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  powers  of  tne  General  and 
state  Governments,  considered  as  independent,  and  in  ma 
ny  respects,  rival  states,  will  conclude  my  remarks  on 
this  branch  of  the  subject. 

"  The  unfortunate  extent  of  the  grounds  of  collision  be 
tween  the  respective  governments,  has  already  been  re 
ferred  to.  It  was  beyond  the  wit  of  man.  in  the  constitu 
tion  of  a  government  like  ours,  to  have  wholly  avoided  it, 
and  it  can  only  be  lessened  by  mutual  forbearance  and 
explanatory  amendments.  He  must  be  but  a  superficial 
observer  of  events,  who  is  not  sensible  that  it  is  a  subject 
which  is  every  attracting  more  of  public  attention  and  so 
licitude.  There  are  those,  sir,  and  they  are  neither  small 
in  number,  nor  light  in  character,  who  think  that  the  uni 
form  tendency  of  the  political  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  has  been  to  strengthen  the  arm  of  the  General  Gov 
ernment,  and  to  weaken  those  of  the  slates.  Such  men 
think  that  danger  to  the  state  governments  is  to  be  appre 
hended  from  permanently  fixing  the  Judges  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  at  the  seat  of  the  federal  government.  They 
fear,  (to  use  an  expression,  which,  though  not  literally  ap 
plicable  here,  still  so  well  conveys  the  idea)  that  it 
would  be  'establishing  a  power  behind  the  throne  stron 
ger  than  the  throne  itself.'  Thus  thinking,  they  com- 


THE  LIFE  OF 

menced,  as  far  back  as  the  now  vindicated,  but  for 
merly  much  abused,  act  of  1802,  to  confine  the  justi 
ces  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  their  respective  Circuits, 
and  that  course  has  been  persevered  in  to  the  present 
day.  They  think  the  inevitable  tendency  of  a  change 
would  be  for  the  worse,  that,  if  the  Judges  come  here 
under  the  eye  of  the  government,  prominent  parties  as 
they  always  must  be  to  all  collisions  between  the  re 
spective  governments,  they  could  not  fail  to  embark 
more  strongly  in  the  feelings  of  men  in  power  here, 
than  they  now  do. 

"  Sir,  this  has  become  a  subject  on  which  it  is  difficult 
for  one  to  speak  without  unpleasantly  encountering  the 
strong  opinions  entertained  on  different  sides  of  the  ques 
tion.  On  the  one  hand,  expressions  of  distrust  and  dis 
satisfaction  are  heard,  of  a  character  so  strongly  marked, 
as  to  defeat  their  object  and  recoil  upon  their  authors.  On 
the  other,  a  sentiment,  I  had  almost  said,  of  idolatry  for 
the  Supreme  Court,  has  grown  up,  which  claims  for  its 
members  an  almost  entire  exemption  from  the  fallibility 
of  our  nature,  and  arraigns  with  unsparing  bitterness  the 
motives  of  all  who  have  the  temerity  to  look  with[inquisi- 
tiveeyes  into  this  consecrated  sanctuary  of  the  law.  So 
powerful  has  this  sentiment  become,  such  strong  hold 
has  it  taken  upon  the  press  of  this  country,  that  it  re 
quires  not  a  little  share  of  firmness  in  a  public  man,  how 
ever  imperious  may  be  his  duty,  to  express  sentiments 
that  conflict  with  it.  It  is  nevertheless  correct,  sir,  that 
in  this,  as  in  almost  every  other  case,  the  truth  is  to  be 
found  in  a  just  medium  of  the  subject.  To  so  much  of 
the  high-wrought  eulogies,  (which  the  fashion  of  the  times 
has  recently  produced  in  such  great  abundance)  as  allows 
to  the  distinguished  men  who  now  hold  in  their  hands 
that  portion  of  the  administration  of  public  affairs,  talents 
of  the  highest  order  and  spotless  integrity,  I  cheerfully 
add  the  very  humble  testimony  of  my  unqualified  assent. 
That  the  uncommon  man  who  now  presides  over  the 
Court,  and  who  I  hope  may  long  continue  to  do  so,  is,  in 
all  human  probability,  the  ablest  Judge  now  sitting  upon 
any  judicial  bench  in  the  world,  I  sincerely  believe.  But 
to  the  sentiment,  which  claims  for  the  Judges  so  great  a 
share  of  exemption  from  the  feelings  that  govern  the  con 
duct  of  other  men,  and  for  the  Court  the  character  of  be 
ing  the  safest  depository  of  political  power,  I  do  not 
subscribe.  I  have  been  brought  up  in  an  opposite  faith 
and  all  my  experience  has  confirmed  me  in  its  correct- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

ness.  In  my  legislation  upon  this  subject,  I  will  act  in 
conformity  to  those  opinions.  I  believe  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  (great  and  good  men  as  I  cheerfully  con 
cede  them  to  be,)  are  subject  to  the  same  infirmities, 
influenced  by  the  same  passions,  and  operated  upon  by 
the  same  causes  that  good  and  great  men  are  in  other  sit 
uations.  I  believe  they  have  as  much  of  the  esprit  du 
corps  as  other  men,  those  who  act  otherwise,  form  an 
-erroneous  estimate  of  human  nature:  and  if  they  act 
upon  that  estimate,  will,  soon  or  late,  become  sensible  of 
their  delusion. 

"  I  conscientiously  believe,  that,  to  bring  the  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  to  the  seat  of  the  General  Govern 
ment,  and  making  them,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  the  admin 
istration,  for  such,  it  is  to  be  feared,  would  soon  be  its 
effect,  would  bode  no  good  to  the  state  governments.  With 
feelings  for  the  General  Government,  as  I  humbly  hope, 
purely  catholic,  I  firmly  believe,  and  my  daily  experience 
confirms  that  conviction,  that  much,  very  much  of  the 
present  prosperity  of  the  country  and  its  institutions,  de 
pends  upon  the  successful  action  of  the  state  governments 
and  that  the  preservation  of  their  rightful  powers  is  the 
sine  qua  non  of  our  future  welfare.  I  will  not,  therefore, 
give  my  assent  to  any  measure  which  may  still  further 
disqualify  the  states  to  sustain  themselves  in  those 
collisions  of  power  which  are  unavoidable,  and  in  which 
the  situation  of  the  parties  is  already  so  unequal.  I 
believe  a  different  disposition  of  the  Judges  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  from  that  provided  by  this  bill,  would  have 
such  effect,  and  I  ana,  therefore,  most  decidedly  opposed 
to  it.  Sir,  it  would  be  strange  if  the  tendencies  of  this 
high  tribunal  were  not  such  as  I  have  supposed ;  unless 
indeed,  they  were  more  or  less  than  men.  It  is  not  only 
made  by  this  government,  and  sustained  by  this  govern 
ment,  its  members  not  only  owe  to  it  ail  they  have  and 
are  to  be,  but  they  are  the  only  portion  of  it  that  is  perma 
nent,  that  is  beyond  the  reach  of  any  power  known  to  the 
constitution.  The  billows  of  faction  may  run  mountains 
high,  and  yet  not  reach  them.  The  indignant  voice  of  an 
abused  people  may,  at  stated  periods,  sweep  by  the  board 
every  other  portion  of  the  men  in  power,  may  take  from 
them  the  little  brief  authority  under  which  they  have 
strutted  their  busy  hour  upon  the  stage,  and  cause  them 
to  be  seen  no  more,  but  the  Supreme  Court  alone,  'can 
never  be  palsied  by  the  will  of  its  constituents.'  And, 
sir,  all  things  considered,  it  is  best  that  it  is  so." 


226  THE  LIFE  OF 

The  above  remarks  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  are  de 
serving  of  the  most  serious  attention  of  the  Amer 
ican  people  :  for,  in  the  view  of  the  present  wri 
ter,  the  powers,  attempted  to  be  exercised  by  the 
supreme  court,  within  the  last  few  years,  are  cause 
of  the  most  serious  alarm.  A  majority  of  that 
court  appears  to  have  acted,  steadily,  on  the  anti 
quated  maxim,  "  boni  est  judicis  amplificare  ju- 
risdictionem"  and  the  whole  tenor  of  their  de 
cisions,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
has  been  to  strengthen  and  extend  their  own  pow 
ers,  and  to  bring  the  several  state  governments, 
in  subjection  to  the  federal  government.  They 
have  recognized  the  alarming  doctrine  of  implied 
powers  in  the  constitution,  flowing  from  a  latitudi- 
narian  construction  of  that  instrument:  they 
have  abrogated  state  laws,  and  lent  their  influ 
ence  to  sustain  the  constitutionality  of  a  national 
bank  ;  they  have,  on  a  recent  occasion,  placed 
themselves  in  array  againt  the  authority  of  a  state 
on  questions  relating  to  the  local  administration  of 
criminal  justice  in  that  state,  and  their  friends  have 
claimed  for  them  the  right  of  dictating  to  the  co 
ordinate,  executive  department  of  the  government, 
its  duties  and  responsibilities,  when  a  compliance 
with  that  dictation  would  have  involved  the  coun 
try  in  civil  war. 

The  firmness  of  the  present  venerable  chief 
magistrate  has  rescued  the  country,  in  a  great 
degree  from  the  evil  consequences  of  these  dan 
gerous  principles  ;  but  it  is  certainly  true  that 
the  great  body  of  the  American  people  have  been 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  227 

led,  by  the  high  handed  doctrines  of  the  court, 
to  favor  such  a  modification  of  that  department 
of  the  government,  as  shall  bring  it  within  the 
power  of  public  opinion,  and  check  its  encroach 
ments  upon  the  rights  of  the  states  and  of  the 
other  departments  of  the  government  of  the  Uni 
ted  States. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Speech  of  Air.  Van  Bur  en  on  the  establishment  of  a  uni 
form  system  of  Bankruptcy. — Brief  remarks  on  the 
public  lands. — Extracts  from  his  speech  on  the  coloni 
al  trade. 

IN  the  winter  of  1827,  the  attention  of  Congress 
was  much  occupied  with  a  bill  to  establish  a  uni 
form  system  of  bankruptcy.  The  term  bankrupt, 
in  England,  is  confined  to  persons  engaged  in  com 
mercial  operations,  and  the  English  bankrupt  laws 
apply  only  to  that  class.  By  the  ninety-third  sec 
tion  of  the  bill  proposed  in  the  Senate,  the  provi 
sions  of  the  act  were  to  extend  to  all  classes,  as 
well  as  to  merchants.  Mr.  Van  Buren,  on  sever 
al  occasions,  took  an  active  part  in  discussing  the 
general  bill ;  his  sentiments  on  the  general  ques 
tion,  and  on  the  particular  section  above  mention 
ed,  are  contained  in  the  following  brief  extract 
from  a  speech  delivered  on  the  23d  of  January, 
1827. 

On  a  motion  to  strike  out  the  ninety  third  section: 
20 


230  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said,  that,  as  the  decision  of  the  im 
mediate  question  before  the  Senate  would  control  his 
course  on  the  final  passage  of  the  bill,  he  felt  himself  con 
strained  to  slate  the  principles  which  would  govern  him 
in  the  vote  he  was  about  to.  give.  He  might  not,  he  said, 
be  as  sanguine  in  his  expeccations  of  the  benefits  to  be 
anticipated  from  the  establishment  of  a  uniform  system 
of  bankruptcy,  as  some  of  his  colleagues  of  the  commit 
tee  ;  but  he  was  not  less  anxious  than  they  that  such  a 
measure  should  receive  the  sanction  of  Congress  at  the 
present  session.  He  was  aware  of  the  serious  and  impos 
ing  objections  that  had  heretofore  been  made  to  the  sys 
tem,  and  that  would  always  be  made,  whenever  its  esta 
blishment  was  attempted.  He  was  sensible  of  the  argu 
ment  that  was  to  be  derived  from  the  unfortunate  result  of 
the  only  experiment  that  had  been  made  upon  the  subject 
by  the  Federal  Government.  He  was,  notwithstanding, 
willing  to  repeat  it.  He  felt  so  disposed,  not  only  because 
lie  was  satisfied  that  a  great  proportion  of  his  immediate 
constituents  desired  it,  but  because  he  believed  their 
claim  upon  Congress  for  the  exercise  of  its  constitutional 
powers  in  this  respect,  could  be  sustained  on  the  ground 
of  policy  as  well  as  justice. 

"But,  said  he,  when  I  say  I  am  in  favor  of  a  bankrupt 
system,  I  mean  to  be  understood  as  speaking  of  a  bankrupt 
system  in  the  language  of  the  constitution,  and  such  as 
was  in  contemplation  by  the  framers  of  that  instrument. 
All  the  other  provisions  of  the  bill,  he  said,  were  of  that 
character,  and  had  met  his  approbation  in  the  committee. 
The  93d  section  was  not,  and  had  never  received  his  sanc 
tion.  It  was  an  insolvent,  and  not  a  bankrupt  law.  It 
was  such  a  bill  as  Congress  had  no  right  to  pass.  He 
said,  he  was  aware  of  the  ingenuity  which  had  been,  and 
might  again  be  used,  to  confound  the  bankrupt  and  insol 
vent  systems — an  ingenuity  which  had  before,  and  might 
again  embarrass  the  question  as  to  the  relative  powers  of 
the  federal  and  state  Governments.  He  was  conscious 
of  the  difficulty,  (difficulty  arising  from  the  decisions  of 
the  Courts,  and  the  frequency  and  contrariety  of  legisla 
tion  in  England)  that  existed  in  laying  down  a  clear  and 
unexceptionable  rule  of  discrimination  between  bankrupt 
and  insolvent  laws.  For  the  present,  at  least,  he  should 
not  attempt  it.  He  would  content  himself  with  the  gen 
eral  declarations — that,  for  nearly  three  hundred  years, 
the  two  systems  had  been  kept  distinct  in  England:  That 
they  differed  in  their  origin,  object,  and  provisions,  and 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  231 

had  always,  there  and  here,  been  executed  by  different 
tribunals  :  That  at  the  time  of  the  adoption   of  the   Con 
stitution,  they  were  known    and  distinguished,  both  in 
England  and  in  this  country,  as  distinct  systems — the  one 
having  for  its  object  to  aflbrd  a  summary  and  speedy   re 
medy  for  creditors  against  fraudulent  or  failing  traders  ; 
ihe  other  affording  relief  to  insolvent  debtors  of  all  denomi 
nations.     The  constitution  of  the  United  States,  he  said, 
had  clothed  the  national  Legislature  with  power  to  es 
tablish  the  former,  and  had  left  the  right  to  pass,  .and  the 
-duty  of  establishing  the  latter  upon  the  state  governments. 
The  93d  section  of  this  bill,  he  said,  was,  upon  any  defi 
nition  that  might  be  given  of  the  different  terms,  an  insol 
vent  law.     If  it  passed,  that  is,  if  Congress  had   the  con 
stitutional  power  to  pass  it,  the  states  had  no  right  to  pass 
any  law  upon  the  subject  of  insolvency  ;  not  even  to  au 
thorize  the  discJharge  of  debtors  imprisoned,  upon  a  process 
issuing  out  of  their  own  courts,  otherwise  than  as  it  might 
suit  the  pleasure  or  convenience  of  Congress   to  permit. 
There  was,  he  said,  no  middle  ground.     If  the  partition 
wall  between  bankruptcy  and  insolvency  was  once  bro 
ken  down,  all  state  legislation  was  subjected  -to  the  abso 
lute  and  arbitrary  supervision  of  Congress.     He   did  not 
-believe  that  such  was  the  design  of  the  framers-of  the  con 
stitution.     He  did  not  believe  that  such  was  the  constitu 
tion.     He,  therefore,  objected  to  the  constitutional  power 
of  Congress  to  pass  the  section  referred  ta     He  had  be 
fore  said,  that  he  rose  to  explain,  not  to  discuss,   and  he 
would  not  depart  from  the  course  he  had  marked  out  for 
himself.     He  would,  therefore  only  add,  that  in  his  judg 
ment,  the  provision  contained  in  the  93d  section,  was  not 
within  the  reasons  which  induced  the  frarners  of  the  con 
stitution  to  vest  this  power  of  establishing  uniform  laws 
on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  in  Congress.     That  it  was 
a  power  which  never  ought  to  be,  or  to  have  been,' vested 
in  Congress.     That  it  could  only  be  well  and  successful 
ly  executed  by  the  states,  where  those  who  made  the  con 
stitution  had  left  it.     That   its  exercise   would  operate 
most  injuriously  upon  the   system  which   governed   the 
Union  and  the  states  separately.     Those  mischiefs  would, 
among  other  things,  consist  in  an  injurious  extension  of 
the  patronage  of  the  federal  government,  and  an  insup- 
Dortable  enlargement  of  the  range  of  its  judicial  power. 
It  was  not  his  purpose  to  specify.     He  would  only  say, 
that,  if  this  section  passed,  it  would   be  perfectly   idle  to 
ihink  of  the  sufficiency  of  one  or  two,  or  ten  or  twenty 


232  THE  LIFE  OF 

commissioners  to  execute  the  law  in  many,  if  not  most, 
of  the  states.  But  a  still  more  exceptionable  consequence 
would  be,  the  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  federal 
courts,  and  the  indispensable  necessity  of  an  immediate 
and  great  increase  of  their  number.  The  obvious  charac 
ter  of  this  consequence  superseded  the  necessity  of  detail. 
The  portion  of  litigation  in  the  different  states,  arising 
out  of  their  insolvent  laws,  was  familiar  to  all,  and  that 
would  of  necessity,  be  either  immediately  or  ultimately 
drawn  into  the  federal  courts.  He  was  certain  that,  if 
the  bill  passed  as  it  stood,  the  measure  would  not  stand 
as  long  as  its  predecessor.  It  was,  he  thought,  improba 
ble,  that  the  stales  could  stand  quietly  by  and  see  them 
selves  thus  shorn  of  so  great  and  salutary  a  portion  of 
their  powers.  The  decision  of  the  supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  would  doubtless,  be  referred  to;  of  that, 
he  would,  for  the  present,  only  say,  that  that  high  tribu 
nal  had  not  as  yet  covered  the  whole  ground.  He  was 
aware  of  what,  at  the  moment  he  was  speaking,  was  go 
ing  on  below.  But  he  would  not,  for  an  instant,  antici 
pate  farther  limitations  upon  the  rights  of  the  states  upon 
this  subject.  As  yet,  they  had  not  been  restricted  by  the 
supreme  Court  from  passing  prospective  insolvent  laws. 
Such  was  the  ninety-third  section.  Such  the  states  and 
the  states  only,  had  a  right  to  pass.  If  Congress  acted 
upon  the  subject,  their  act,  if  acquiesced  in,  would  include 
a  surrender  of  all  state  power  upon  the  subject.  If  it  was 
put  to  him  to  decide  between  being  a  party  in  such  sur 
render,  or  the  loss  of  the  bankrupt  bill,  he  could  not,  as 
he  viewed  the  subject,  without  being  false  to  his  trust, 
hesitate  in  preferring  the  latter." 

In  regard  to  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands,  a 
topic  of  great  interest  and  great  difficulty,  the  fol 
lowing  remarks  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  were  made,  on 
a  motion  to  ask  for  information,  in  the  Senate,  May 
18th,  1826, 

"  Mr  Van  Buren  said,  the  subject  of  the  public  lands 
was  becoming  daily  more  and  more  interesting,  and  would 
occupy  much  time  in  legislation.  It  extended  the  patron 
age  oi  the  government  over  the  states  in  which  they  were 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  -333 

situated,  to  a  great  extent ;  it  subjected  them  to  an  un 
wise  and  unprofitable  dependence  on  the  federal  govern 
ment.  *  *  *  No  man  could  render  the  country  a 
greater  service,  than  he  who  should  devise  some  plan  by 
which  the  United  States  might  be  relieved  from  the  own 
ership  of  this  property,  by  some  equitable  mode.  He_would 
vote  for  a  proposition  to  rest  the  lands  in  the  states  in 
which  they  stood,  on  some  just  and  equitable  terms,  as 
related  to  the  other  states  in  the  confederacy.  He  hoped, 
that  after  having  full  information  on  the  subject,  they 
would  be  able  to  effect  that  great  object.  He  believed 
that  if  those  lands  were  disposed  of  at  once  to  the  several 
states,  it  would  be  satisfactory  to  all." 

In  the  winter  of  1827,  arose  the  great  discus 
sion  in  the  Senate,  with  reference  to  the  intercourse 
with  the  British  West  India  Colonies.  At  a  sub 
sequent  period,  the  instructions  furnished  by  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  as  Secretary  of  state,  to  our  minister 
in  England,  with  reference  to  the  adjustment  of 
this  question,  were  made  the  ground  of  his  rejec 
tion  by  the  Senate,  when  himself  nominated  as 
minister  to  the  same  foreign  court.  No  act  of  the 
American  Senate  ever  aroused  the  feelings  of  the 
American  people  to  a  greater  extent ;  no  event  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  political  life  ever  had  a  more  im 
mediate  influence  upon  his  success.  It  will  not, 
therefore,  be  improper  to  present  his  views  of  this 
question,  at  this  early  period,  when  his  own  subse 
quent  connection  with  the  consequences  could  not 
have  been  foreseen.  The  subjoined  extracts  from 
his  speech,  delivered  in  the  Senate  on  the  24th  of 
February  1827,  present  a  clear  view  of  the  facts  in 
the  case,  and  are  replete  with  the  most  judicious, 
statesmanlike  and  patriotic  sentiments.  They 
evince  how  fully  Mr.  Van  Buren  was,  then,  master 
20* 


234  THE  LIFE  OF 

of  the  whole  subject,  and  how  little  he  was  disposed 
to  sacrifice  national  interests,  or  permit  foreign  gov 
ernments  to  take  advantage  of  domestic  differences 
of  opinion. 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said,  it  was,  until  yesterday,  my  in 
tention,  Mr.  President,  to  abstain  from  all  participation  in 
the  discussion  of  the  bill  now  under  consideration.  The 
able  examination  which  it  has  already  received,  and  the 
advanced  period  of  the  session  at  which  it  has  been  brought 
forward,  alike  dictate  the  propriety  of  this  course.  But 
as  neither  the  bill  reported  by  the  committee,  nor  the 
amendment  proposed  as  a  substitute,  by  the  Senator  from 
Maryland,  [Mr.  Smith]  appears  to  my  judgment  entirely 
satisfactory,  I  cannot  do  justice  to  the  vote  which  I  intend 
to  give,  without  a  brief  examination  of  this  important 
subject.  The  commercial  gentlemen  who  have  favored 
the  Senate  with  their  views,  have  sufficiently  'examined 
the  details,  and  explained  the  value  of  the  trade  with  the 
British  Colonial  possessions.  To  their  remarks  on  this 
point,  nothing  need  be  said.  It  is  conceded  on  all  sides, 
that  the  trade  is  of  great  value  to  our  country,  and  de-. 
mands  every  effort  for  its  restoration  and  protection. 
Much  time  has  been  occupied  in  criminating  and  vindi 
cating  the  conduct  of  the  different  branches  of  the  govern 
ment,  in  reference  to  this  subject.  Of  this,  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  complain.  In  a  government  like  ours,  where 
the  highest  office  is  but  a  trust,  and  every  public  functiona 
ry  is  held  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which  this  trust 
has  been  fulfilled,  the  closest  scrutiny  of  public  measures 
is  at  all  times  necessary.  But  although  not  disposed  to 
censure,  I  will  not  imitate  the  example  of  some  of  those 
•who  have  preceded  me  in  the  debate ;  and  it  will  be  my 
effort  to  avoid  all  reference  to  the  conduct  of  individuals, 
except  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  explain  the  course  of 
events,  and  to  exculpate  this  body  from  unmerited  impu 
tations. 

"  The  subject  of  the  colonial  trade,  involving  in  itself 
many  opposing  interests,  has  been  rendered  still  more 
complicated  by  the  various  legislative  measures,  orders, 
and  proclamations,  which  have,  from  time  to  time,  been 
adopted  by  the  respective  governments.  To  revive  these 
acts,  and  trace,  from  the  extensive  diplomatic  correspon 
dence  between  the  two  governments,  the  rise,  history,  and 
present  state,  of  the  existing  differences,  is  no  easy  task. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  235 

This,  however,  I  will  attempt  to  do,  in  the  plainest  man 
ner,  and  fewest  words.  I  avail  myself  of  the  present  mo 
ment  to  do  so,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  to  the  worthy 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  commerce,  an  opportunity 
to  correct,  in  his  closing  remarks,  any  errors  into  which  I 
may  have  fallen.  For,  while  it  is  my  object  to  present  an 
impartial  view  of  the  subject,  uninfluenced  by  any  other 
motive  than  a  regard  for  the  interest  and  honor  of  our 
country,  it  would  be  the  source  of  unmingled  regret,  if, 
mistaking  error  for  truth,  it  shall  be  my  misfortune  to  do 
injustice  to  others.  To  foster  the  infant  navigation  of  the 
United  States,  and  countervail  the  regulations  of  other 
commercial  nations,  laws  were  passed,  at  an  early  period 
of  the  government,  imposing  a  duty  of  ninety-four  cents 
per  ton  on  foreign  ships  and  vessels,  and  ten  per  centum 
on  the  amount  of  duty  on  the  merchandise,  therein  im 
ported,  which  should  arrive  in  the  United  States ;  from 
which  duties  the  American  vessels  and  cargoes  were 
exempted.* 

By  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  1815,  a  new  and  more 
liberal  policy  was  commenced.  The  discriminating  du 
ties  on  foreign  ships  and  vessels  were  conditionally  re 
pealed  :  and  a  tender  was  made  to  all  other  nations  to  ex 
tend  to  their  vessels  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  their  own, 
on  the  condition  that  the  same  concessions  should  be 
made  in  favor  of  the  vessels  of  the  United  States.  The 
principle  of  this  act  was  adopted  in  the  commercial  con 
vention  with  Great  Britain,  of  July  3,  1815,  but  was  limi 
ted,  in  its  application,  to  the  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  the  British  possessions  in  Europe.  It  was  at 
that  time  proposed  by  the  government  of  the  United  States 
to  extend  the  principle  to  the  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  the  British  American  colonies.  But  Great 
Britain,  claiming  the  right  of  pursuing  a  policy,  in  relation 
to  their  colonies,  different  from  that  by  which  the  trade 
between  her  European  possessions  and  other  nations  was 
governed,  declined  the  overture.  With  regard  to  this 
trade,  therefore,  each  party  preserved  their  original  rights. 
By  the  operation  of  this  convention,  and  the  ordinary  nav 
igation  laws  of  Great  Britain,  the  United  States  were  in 
effect  excluded  from  all  participation  in  the  British  West 
India  trade  ;  and  British  vessels  became  the  sole  carriers 
of  the  productions  of  the  American  soil,  to  colonies,  to 
whose  prosperity,  if  not  existence,  these  productions  were 

*  Hence  called  discriminating  duties. 


236  THE  LIFE  OF 

indispensable.     A  condition  so  unequal,  demanded  the  in 
terposition  of  our  government. 

"  Successive,  but  fruitless  appeals  were  made  to  the  in 
terests  of  Great  Britain  :  and  the  most  favorable  terms 
which  could  be  obtained,  so  late  as  March  1817,  was  a 
proposition  to  extend  to  the  United  Slates  the  Free  Port 
Act,  allowing  the  importation  of  certain  enumerated  arti 
cles,  into  certain  enumerated  ports,  in  vessels  of  one  deck; 
to  authorize  a  restricted  admission  of  our  vessels  into 
Bermudas  and  Turks  Island ;  and  to  connect  with  these 
an  article  regulating  the  intercourse  between  the  United 
States  and  the  British  territories  adjoining  them.  After 
mature  deliberation,  this  proposition  was  declined  by  our 
government.  Negotiation  having  failed  in  procuring  any 
favorable  relaxation  of  the  colonial  system  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  Congress  deemed  it  necessary  to  enforce,  by  counter 
vailing  legislative  enactments,  a  just  participation  in  the 
trade  ;  and  in  1818  an  act  was  passed,  by  which  the  ports 
of  the  United  States  were  clossed  against  British  ves 
sels  coming  from  colonial  ports,  which,  by  the  ordinary 
laws  of  navigation,  were  closed  against  vessels  of  the  Uni 
ted  States.  A  non-intercourse  in  British  vessels  was 
thus  established  with  the  closed  ports.  Soon  after  the 
passing  of  this  act.  an  opportunity  again  occurred  of  pre 
senting  this  subject  to  the  attention  of  the  British  govern 
ment,  in  the  negotiation  for  the  renewal  of  the  commercial 
convention  of  1815.  But,  although  propositions  were  ex 
changed  by  the  respective  governments,  the  terms  still  of 
fered  by  Great  Gritain  were  such  as  our  government  did 
not  deem  it  proper  to  accept ;  and  in  May  1820,  an  act  was 
passed,  supplementary  to  the  Navigation  Act  of  1818,  clo 
sing  the  ports  of  the  United  States  against  British  ves 
sels  coming  from  any  British  colonial  ports  in  the  West 
Indies,  Lower  Canada,  &c.  and  interdicting  the  landing 
of  the  productions  of  the  United  States,  exported  in  Brit 
ish  vessels,  in  the  prohibited  places,  as  well  as  the  intro 
duction  into  the  United  States  of  the  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandise,  of  these  colonies,  except  wholly  of  the  growth 
or  produce  of  the  colony  whence  laden  and  whence  direct 
ly  imported.  To  prevent  or  mitigate  the  effect  of  these 
measures  upon  the  trade  and  prosperity  of  the  colonies, 
partial  relaxations  of  her  colonial  system  were  at  times 
permitted  by  Great  Britain.  But  these  temporary  relax 
ations  were  not  of  a  character  to  justify  the  abandonment 
of  the  ground  which  we  had  taken.  To  evince,  howev 
er,  our  willingness  to  terminate  a  system  of  exclusion  and 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  237 

prohibition,  which  could  only  be  injurious  to  both  parties, 
Congress,    by  act  of  6th  May  1822,  authorized  the    Presi 
dent,  on  being  satisfied  that  the  British  West  India  Isl 
ands  or  colonies  were  open  to  the  vessels  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  to  open  the  ports  of  the  United  States  to  the 
vessels  of  Great  Britain,  under  such  'reciprocal  rules  and 
restrictions'  as  the  President   might  make   and   publish. 
The  act  of  Parliament,  of  24  th  June,  1822,  followed.     By 
this  act,  Great  Britain  opened  the  colonial  ports,  therein 
designated,  to  the  admission  of  certain    enumerated  arti 
cles,  direct  from  the  producing  country ;  and  authorized 
the  exportation  of  any  article  of  the  growth,   produce,   or 
manufacture  of  the  British  dominions,  or  any  article  !e 
gaily  imported  into  the  said  ports,  (arms  and  naval  stores 
excepted,)  on  the   condition  that  they  should,  in  foreign 
ships,  be  exportable  only  direct   to  the  country  to  which 
the  vessel  belonged.     The   15th  section  empowers   the 
King  to  prohibit  trade  and  intercourse  with  any  country, 
or  island,  in  America,  or  the  West  Indies,  if  it  should  ap 
pear  that  the  privileges  granted  by  the  act  to  foreign  ships 
and  vessels,  were  not  allowed  to  British  vessels.  The  an 
ticipated  contingency  having  arrived,  which  required  the 
exercise  of  the  power  with  which  the  President  had  been 
entrusted  by  the  act  of  Congress,  of  1822,  he   issued  his 
proclamation  in  August,  1822,  declaring  the  ports  of  the 
United  States  to  be  open  to  British  vessels,  under  such 
rules  and  restrictions  as  were   deemed  reciprocal.     The 
discriminating  duties  between  American  and  foreign  ves 
sels,  were  not  rescinded  by  the  proclamation.     Of  this,  the 
British  government  complained,  alleging  that  similar  priv 
ileges  were  not  conferred,  by  the  proclamation,  on   Brit-" 
ish  vessels,  as  had  been  conferred  on   American  vessels, 
by  the  act  of  Parliament.     On  the  other  hand,  it  was  con 
tended  by  our  government,  that  the  privileges  granted  to 
British  vessels  were  more  favorable  than  those  conferred 
on  American  vessels  engaged  in  the  same  trade,  on  the  as 
sumption  that  our  discriminating  duties  were  to  be  con 
tinued.     This  question  gave  rise  to  an  extended  corres 
pondence  between  the  appropriate  public  functionaries  of 
the  two  governments.     It  is  not  necessary,  nor  is  it  my  in 
tention,  to  examine  minutely  the  grounds  of  these  opposite 
opinions.     *     *     * 

"  Such,  in  substance,  were  the  points  of  collision  be 
tween  the  two  governments,  upon  the  British  act  of  June, 
1822.  Subsequent  changes  have  rendered  a  critical  ex 
amination  of  the  justice  of  the  respective  pretensions  un- 


238  THE  LIFE  OF 

necessary.  The  correspondence  which  ensued  produced 
no  decisive  result.  Although  Great  Britain  still  alleged 
the  inequality  of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  British  ves 
sels  in  American  ports,  the  power  to  prohibit  intercourse 
with  the  West  India  Islands,  in  pursuance  of  the  act  of 
Parliament  of  June  1822,  remained,  for  some  time,  unex- 
ercised.  On  the  1st  of  March  1823,  Congress  passed  an 
act  suspending  the  non-intercourse  acts  of  1818  and  1820, 
and  opening  our  ports  to  British  vessels  engaged  in  the 
colonial  trade,  on  certain  specified  conditions.  One  of 
the  conditions  was,  that,  if  the  President  should  receive 
satisfactory  evidence  that  no  higher  or  other  duties  were 
imposed,  in  the  British  colonial  ports,  upon  American 
vessels,  or  cargoes,  than  upon  British  vessels,  and  upon 
their  cargoes,  imported  from  elsewhere  into  the  same,  to 
discontinue  our  discriminating  or  alien  duties  in  favor  of 
British  vessels.  This  act  was  in  accordance  with  the 
ground  maintained  by  our  government  in  their  correspon 
dence  with  Great  Britain  since  the  year  1817.  It  adopts 
the  principle  that  the  reciprocity  of  burdens  and  exemp 
tions  should  extend  to  the  cargo  as  well  as  to  the  vessel ; 
and  claims  for  our  produce,  imported  into  the  British  col 
onies,  the  privileges  allowed  to  the  produce  of  the  mother 
country,  or  its  colonies.  This  claim  was  resisted  by  Great 
Britain,  as  wholly  inadmissible ;  and,  in  the  same  year, 
an  order  in  Council  was  enforced,  imposing  countervail 
ing  duties  on  American  vessels,  arriving  at  her  colonial 
possessions  of  precisely  equal  amount  to  those  imposed  in 
our  ports,  upon  British  vessels  arriving  from  the  colonies. 
In  1824,  there  at  length  appeared  some  ground  to  antici 
pate  the  speedy  termination  of  the  conflicting  views.  Ne 
gotiations  were  commenced,  propositions  of  the  respec 
tive  governments  were  interchanged  and  the  claims  of  both 
were  supported  with  ability  and  zeal.  But,  although  the 
differences  were  reduced  to  a  single  point,  the  negotiation, 
terminated  without  effecting  the  desired  adjustment.  Being 
'limited  by  his  instructions,  the  American  Minister  insisted 
that  theproductionsjof  the  United  States  imported  into  the 
colonies,  should  not  be  subjected  to  a  higher  duty  or  im 
post  than  those  arriving  from  any  other  place.  The 
British  government  were  willing  to  place  them  on  the 
footing  of  the  most  favored  nation;  but  inflexibly  main 
tained  their  uniformly  asserted  right  to  encourage,  by  dis 
criminating  imposts,  the  growth  and  importation  of  their 
own  productions. 
"It  is  not  necessary  to  recapitulate  the  reason?  which 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

were  urged  by  the  respective  parties,  and  with  which  ev 
ery  Senator  must  be  familiar.  But  it  is  important  to  keep 
in  mind,  that  the  failure  of  the  negotiation  arose  from  our 
government  having  at  that  time,  adhered  to  terms,  which 
it  has  since  abandoned.  In  the  instructions  from  the  De 
partment  of  State,  to  our  Minister  in  London,  (Mr.  Gal- 
latin.)  dated  June  19,  1826,  we  find  the  following  :  '  You 
will  observe,  that  the  instructions  now  given  respecting  the 
colonial  trade,  amount  to  an  authority,  on  the  part  of  this 
government,  to  you,  to  agree  in  substance  to  the  modifica 
tion  of  Mr.  Rush's  proposal,  which  was  required  [in  1824} 
by  the  British  Plenipotentiaries.'  In  July  1824,  the  Brit 
ish  tender  was  made  :  nearly  two  years  elapse;  and,  in 
1S26,  this  tender  is  accepted  !  Nearly  two  years  consu 
med  in  the  consideration  of  that  which  ought  not  to  have 
required  as  many  months.  Well  might  it  have  been  sup 
posed  that  this  proffer  was  rejected  :  for  surely  the  annals 
of  no  country  can  exhibit  so  lingering  an  acceptance.  But 
this  acceptance,  coming  thus  slow,  unfortunately  came 
too  late.  Before  its  arrival,  the  policy  or  the  inclination 
of  the  British  goverment  had  changed  ;  and,  instead  of  a 
cordial  reception,  our  Minister  was  informed  that  nego 
tiation  was  now  unnecessary  ;  and  that  the  only  terms  of 
intercourse  were  prescribed  by  the  acts  of  Parliament.  In 
this,  as  well  as  in  concerns  of  less  magnitude,  it  may  be 
seen  that  whatever  is  determined  to  be  done,  should  be 
done  at  once;  that  deliberation,  if  it  supply  the  place  of 
action,  is  not  less  fatal  than  precipitation  ;  and  that,  to 
hesitate  in  the  acceptance  of  a  proffered  and  desired  bene 
fit,  and  permit  occasions  to  pass  away,  which  can  never 
be  recalled,  partake  of  the  character  of  weakness,  and  de 
tract  from  the  reputation  of  any  man,  whether  in  the  cab 
inet  or  in  the  field.  Sir,  it  is  well  known  to  our  govern 
ment,  that,  in  1825,  acts  were  passed  by  the  British  Gov 
ernment,  opening  her  ports  to  foreign  vessels,  coming 
from  any  foreign  country,  upon  equal  terms  with  her  own; 
on  the  condition  that  the  country  engaging  in  such  a  trade, 
and  having  colonies,  should  allow  British  vessels  to  trade 
with  its  colonies,  on  similar  terms  ;  and  that  a  country, 
having  no  colonial  possessions,  should,  to  entitle  itself  to 
the  privileges  of  these  acts,  place  the  trade  between  the 
British  colonies  and  such  country,  on  the  terms  of  the 
most  favored  nation.  The  King  was  at  the  same  time 
authorised  to  close  the  British  colonial  ports  against  the 
vessels  of  any  power  which  should  refuse  or  omit  to  avail 
itself  of  the  proffered  conditions.  Not  only  were  these- 


240  THE  LIFE  OF 

acts  in  the  possession  of  the  Executive ;  they  were  pre 
sented  to  your  committee,  and  laid  upon  our  tables.  And 
yet,  what  was  the  course  pursued  by  that  Department  of 
our  Government,  to  which  these  concerns  were  specially 
confided?  Were  legislative  measures  recommended  ei 
ther  to  suspend  or  remove  the  existing  restrictions,  or  to 
meet,  in  any  way»  the  legislative  measures  of  Great  Brit 
ain  ?  Not  at  all.  We  find  the  administration,  on  the 
contrary,  still  hesitating,  still  delaying,  and  still  placing 
their  dependence  on  renewed  negotiation.  In  their  view, 
legislation  was  improper ;  and  one  entire  session  of  Con 
gress  thus  passed  away,  and  nothing  was  either  done  or  at 
tempted  under  their  recommendation.  An  effort,  it  is  true 
was  made  by  a  member  of  this  body.  But  the  bill  intro 
duced  by  the  Senator  from  Maryland,  and  which,  had  it 
passed,  would  at  least  have  manifested  a  conciliatory  spir 
it,  and,  in  all  probability,  have  led  to  an  honorable  ad 
justment  of  the  pending  controversy,  was  permitted  to  fail. 
The  cause  of  its  failure,  it  will  hereafter  be  my  object  to 
disclose.  Interesting  as  that  may  be,  the  consequences 
attending  it  are  of  more  importance  to  our  country.  Ap 
prised  of  our  refusal  to  modify  the  existing  restrictions  up 
on  the  trade,  or  reciprocate  the  provisions  of  the  acts  of 
Parliament,  the  British  Government,  by  an  Order  in  Coun 
cil  of  July  1826,  closed  the  ports  of  the  West  Indies  against 
the  vessels  of  the  United  States  ;  and  since  last  Decem 
ber,  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  have  enjoyed  the  exclu 
sive  monopoly  of  this  advantageous  intercourse.  To  this 
has  been  added  the  intimation,  that  no  measure  will  be 
taken  to  remove  the  interdict,  while  the  act  of  Congress  of 
1823  shall  remain  in  force.  *  *  * 

"Such,  sir,  is  the  history  and  present  condition  of  the 
existing  controversy  with  Great  Britain,  which  requires, 
it  is  said,  the  enactment  of  the  bill  under  consideration. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  deductions  which  seem  to 
follow,  irresistibly,  from  the  view  which  has  been  taken, 
viz :  1st.  That,  had  it  not  been  for  the  principle  assumed  in 
the  act  of  Congress  of  1823,  which  claims  for  our  trade 
the  same  immunities  as  are  allowed  to  the  trade  between 
the  colonies  and  the  mother  country,  an  honorable  and 
equitable  adjustment  might  have  been  effected  under  the 
British  act  of  June  1822,  opening  the  colonial  ports  to 
American  vessels.  2dly.  That  the  principle  of  the  act  of 
Congress,  of  1823,  to  which  I  have  already  referred,  and 
which,  until  recently,  was  alleged  to  be  an  insuperable 
obstacle  to  the  acceptance  of  the  British  proposal,  has 


MARTIN  VAN"  BUREN.  241 

now  been  for  malty  abandoned  by  our  Government. 
3dly.  That,  in  1824,  the  same  terms  were  offered  by  the 
British  Government,  which,  in  1826,  Mr.  Gallatin  was 
instructed  to  accept.  4thly.  That  the  British  acts  of 
June  and  July  1825,  opened  the  colonial  ports  to  our  trade, 
on  the  terms  proposed  by  the  committee  in  their  reported 
bill,  as  the  condition  for  the  revival  of  the  trade,  and  of 
the  equity  of  which  there  can,  therefore,  be  no  difference 
of  opinion:  and,  5thly,  that,  if  these  terms  had  been  re 
ciprocated  by  the  passage  of  the  bill,  which  was  presented 
to  the  Senate  by  the  Senator  from  Maryland,  at  the  last 
session,  we  should  be  now  participating  in  the  advantages 
of  this  intercourse,  *  *  * 

"Mr.  President:  In  the  review  which  I  have  taken  of 
the  origin  and  history  of  our  commercial  difference  with 
great  Britain,  I  have  endeavored  to  direct  your  attention 
to  the  acts  as  well  as  to  the  omissions  of  our  government. 
It  remains  to  consider  what  is  proper  to  be  done,  to  reme 
dy  the  one  and  supply  the  other. 

"  In  the  prosecution  of  this  inquiry,  it  is  not  necessary, 
I  am  sure,  to  urge  upon  this  Senate,  the  adoption  of  those 
measures  only  which  are  demanded  by  the  honor  and  in 
terests  of  our  country,  and  the  exclusion  from  our  coun 
cils  of  every  consideration  less  worthy  of  our  regard. 
The  humiliating  spectacle  of  a  foreign  and  adverse  gov 
ernment,  speculating  upon  the  advantages  which  it  may 
derive  from  our  dissensions,  will,  I  fervently  trust,  never 
again  be  the  reproach  of  the  American  people.  In  a 
government  like  ours,  founded  upon  freedom  in  thought 
and  action,  imposing  no  unnecessary  restraints,  and  call 
ing  into  exercise  the  highest  energies  of  the  mind,  occa 
sional  differences  of  opinion  are  not  only  to  be  expected, 
but  to  be  desired.  They  rouse  the  sluggish  to  exertion, 
give  increased  energy  to  the  most  active  intellect,  excite 
a  salutary  vigilance  over  our  public  functionaries,  and 
prevent  that  apathy  which  has  proved  the  ruin  of  repub 
lics.  Like  the  electric  spark,  they  dispel  from  the  politi 
cal  atmosphere  the  latent  causes  of  disease  and  death. 
But  these  conflicting  opinions  should  be  confined  to  sub 
jects  which  concern  ourselves.  In  the  collisions  which 
may  arise  between  the  United  States  and  a  foreign  pow 
er,  it  is  our  duty  to  present  an  unbroken  front;  domestic 
differences,  if  they  tend  to  give  encouragement  to  unjust 
pretensions,  should  be  extinguished  or  deferred  ;  and  the 
cause  of  our  government  must  be  considered  as  the  cause 
of  our  country. 

21 


242  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  The  bill  reported  by  the  committee,  directs,  that  after 
the  30th  of  September  next,  our  ports  shall  be  closed 
against  any  vessel  coming  by  sc a  from  the  enumerated 
British  ports :  but  provides  that  the  act  shall  not  take 
effect,  if,  before  that  period,  the  President  shall  receive 
satisfactory  information  that  the  enumerated  British  ports 
are  open  to  the  admission  of  our  vessels  upon  certain  spe 
cified  terms,  being  in  substance,  the  same  proposed  by 
the  British  acts  of  June  and  July  1825.  The  substitute, 
proposed  as  an  amendment  by  the  Senator  from  Maryland, 
removes  the  discriminating  duties,  after  the  31st  of  De 
cember,  and  suspends  the  acts  of  1823,  1820,  and  1818, 
until  the  same  period,  except  so  much  thereof  as  imposes 
discriminating  duties  on  the  tonage  of  foreign  vessels 
and  their  cargoes.  The  bill,  as  reported,  prescribes  the 
consequences  which  would  attend  the  failure  on  the  part 
of  the  British  Government  to  comply,  in  the  time  limited, 
with  the  terms  proposed.  The  amendment  leaves  the 
consequences  to  the  operation  of  the  acts  referred  to,  by 
which  our  ports  will  be  closed  whenever  the  President 
shall  by  proclamation,  announce,  after  the  31st  of  Decem 
ber  next,  that  the  British  ports  are  closed  against  vessels 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  presumption  that,  at  that 
time,  Congress,  being  in  session,  will  adopt  such  further 
measures  as  the  existing  state  of  things  may  require. 
The  merits  of  the  bill  reported  are  supposed,  by  its  advo 
cates,  to  consist  in  the  greater  energy  of  its  provisions ; 
those  of  the  amendment,  in  being  equally  efficient,  and 
more  conciliatory  in  its  form.  Without  material  altera 
tion,  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  either :  but,  as  a  basis  to 
act  on,  I  prefer  the  amendment.  The  bill  assumes  to  be 
what  it  is  not.  If  the  honor  and  interest  of  the  country 
required  the  adoption  of  a  measure  of  retaliation,  corres 
ponding  with  that  to  which  it  is  to  be  opposed,  the  bill 
should  direct  that  the  ports  of  the  United  States  should 
be  closed  against  British  vessels  engaged  in  this  trade. 
But,  if,  from  what  has  been  done  or  omitted,  this  step  is 
not  thought  to  be  expedient,  (a  question  which  I  am  not 
now  disposed  to  press,)  the  measure  which  we  may  adopt 
should  be  as  conciliatory  as  is  consistent  with  self-respect. 
The  amendment  proposes  to  do  now,  what  it  was  expedi 
ent  to  have  done  at  the  last  session.  It  proposes  to  re 
move  the  ground  of  collision  by  abolishing  the  alien  and 
discriminating  duties.  But,  in  consequences  of  the  change 
produced  by  the  British  interdict,  the  operation  of  the 
amendment  is  deferred  to  a  day  sufficiently  distant  to  ena- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  243 

ble  the  British  Government  to  revoke  its  Order  in  Coun 
cil,  and  meet  the  terms  of  the  amendment  by  reciprocal 
provisions.    With  two  modifications,  the  amendment  shall 
receive  my  support.     I  object  to  the  time  when  it  is  to  go 
into  operation,  and  I  prefer  that  it  should  carry  on  its  face 
the  terms  on  which  alone  the  intercourse  can  be  revived. 
Should  the  Senate  concur  in  the  amendment,  by  which 
the  act  will  take  effect,  before   the  next  session  of  Con 
gress,  I  shall  propose  a  section  to  that  effect.    The  amend 
ment,   as  now  offered,  will  present  no  inducement  to 
Great  Britain  for  the  removal  of  her  interdict,  until  a  dis 
tant  day.     This  objection,  however,  may,   in  part,  be  ob 
viated  by  a  provision,  authorizing  the  President,  by  pro 
clamation,  to  remove  the  discriminating  duties  at  any  in 
termediate  time.     But  my  objection  to  the  day  arises  from 
a  higher  consideration.     Our  acts  should  be  firm  ;  and, 
however  mild   and   conciliatory,   should   exhibit    neither 
fickleness  nor  irresolution.     If,  retracing  our  steps,   we 
abandon  the  principle  which  alone  prevented  an  amicable 
adjustment  in  1824,  the  act  announcing  the   fact  should 
also  proclaim  our  unalterable    determination,   should  our 
views  not  be  met  in  a  conciliatory  spirit,  to  accept  of  no 
thing  less  than  that  which  justice  demands.     We   have 
to  contend  with  an  adversary  deeply  versed  in  the  arts  of 
diplomacy,  and  every  way  competent  to  discern  the  inten 
tions  of  those  whose  interests  may  come  in  competition 
with   their  own.     By  deferring  the  operation  of  the  act 
until  Congress  again  meet,  you  will  awaken  some  doubt 
of  your  ultimate  intention,    and   perhaps  a    hope   may 
arise  that  you  are  not  now  prepared  to  renounce  a  trade, 
in  which  you  are  not  permitted  to  participate  on  equitable 
terms.     With  such  an  alternative  before  us,  there  is  no 
one  in  this  Senate — I  trust  there  is  no  one  in  this  nation — 
who  would  hesitate  one  moment  in  his    choice.     In  giv 
ing  utterance  to  this  universal  sentiment,  let  your  act  be 
explicit,  and  your  determination  final.     Leave  nothing  to 
be  accomplished  by  a  future  Congress,  and,   in   the    act 
which  you  may  pass,  present  to  the  British  Government 
you  ultimatum,   in  the  terms  which  she  has  herself  pro 
posed.     In  this,  there  will  neither  be  menace  nor  an  of 
fensive  display.     It  is  precisely  the  course  which  she  pur 
sued,  when  the  situation  of  parties   was  reversed.     If  it 
be  the  intention  of  Great  Britain  to  place  this  trade  upon 
the  footing  of  just  reciprocity,  she  will  not  be  moved  from 
her  purpose  by  mere   questions  of  form.     But  if,  influen 
ced  by  any  change  in  her  views  or  policy,  she  is  resolved 


244          LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUR  EN. 

to  reject  our  liberal  propositions,  no  phraseology,  however 
courteous,  will  produce  a  different  determination.  Be 
this  determination  what  it  may,  we  shall  have  performed 
our  duty,  and  may  rely  upon  the  support  of  the  American 
people." 


CHAPTER    XV. 


Opposition  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Panama  Mission, 
Extract  from  one  of  his  speeches  on  that  question. 

IN  March  1826,  the  great  question  of  sending 
ministers  to  the  Congress  at  Panama  came  up  for 
discussion,  and  drew  forth  the  ablest  efforts  of  the 
ablest  members  of  the  Senate.  The  administra 
tion  of  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  had  hitherto  ex 
perienced  no  regular  opposition  from  the  North  ; 
the  leading  republicans  in  that  section,  were  will 
ing  to  judge  it  by  its  merits,  and  the  first  alarming 
indication  of  a  disposition  to  depart  from  the  car 
dinal  principles  of  the  constitution,  was,  in  the 
nomination  of  ministers  to  represent  the  United 
States  in  the  Congress  of  South  American  pleni 
potentiaries  at  Panama. 

In  December  1824,  Bolivar,  as  commander  in 
chief  of  the  republic  of  Peru,  invited  the  govern 
ments  of  Colombia,  Mexico,  Chili  and  Buenos 
Ayres,  to  unite  with  his  own  government,  in  a  Con- 
21* 


24G  THE  LIFE  OF 

gress  of  plenipotentiaries  at  Panama  ;  and  the 
proposal  was  acceded  to  by  these  states  with  the 
exception  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  time  of  meet 
ing  proposed,  was  the  fall  of  1825,  and  the  min 
isters  of  Colombia  and  Mexico,  residing  at  Wash 
ington,  in  the  spring  preceding,  intimated  a  wish 
that  the  United  States  should  send  delegates  to 
the  same  Congress.  In  compliance  with  this  in 
vitation,  Mr.  Adams  on  the  25th  of  December, 
nominated  Messrs.  Richard  C.  Anderson,  John 
Sargeant  and  Wm.  B.  Rochester,  as  delegates  to 
the  Congress  at  Panama.  When  the  nomination 
was  presented  to  the  Senate,  that  body  took  into 
consideration,  not  only  the  suitableness  of  the 
nomination,  but  the  expediency  of  the  embassy, 
and  on  the  16th  of  January,  following,  the  com 
mittee  of  foreign  relations  reported  that  it  was  in 
expedient  to  send  ministers  to  Panama.  The  de 
bate  was  carried  on,  with  closed  doors,  until  Feb 
ruary,  15th  1826^  when  on  motion  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  it  was  resolved  that  in  the  discusion  of  the 
question,  the  Senate  ought  to  act  with  open  doors, 
unless  the  publication  of  documents  referred  to  in 
the  debate,  would  prejudice  the  pending  negotia 
tions  ;  and  the  President  was  requested  to  inform 
the  Senate  whether  such  was  the  fact,  and  if  so, 
what  documents  ought  not  to  be  published.  The 
substance  of  the  President's  answer  was,  that  the 
communications  by  him  to  the  Senate,  were  made 
in  confidence,  and  the  motion  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
failed. 

On  the    14th  of  March,  Mr.  Van  Buren  sub- 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  247 

mitted  several  other  resolutions,  the  substance  of 
which  was,  that  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  did  not  authorize  the  nomination,  by  the 
President,  of  ministers  to  an  assembly  like  that 
proposed  at  Panama  ;  and  that,  waiving  the  con 
stitutional  objection,  the  proposed  embassy  was 
inexpedient.  These  resolutions  were  rejected  by 
the  Senate  and  the  nominations  were  severally 
confirmed.  It  is  well  known  that  owing  to  the 
death  of  Mr.  Anderson,  and  other  causes,  the  de 
puted  delegates  never  actually  met  in  the  Panama 
Congress. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  met  this  measure  of  the  admin 
istration,  at  every  step,  with  his  most  vigorous  op 
position.  During  its  discussion,  he  entered  mi 
nutely  into  the  history  of  the  South  American 
states,  their  actual  condition  and  future  prospects  ; 
he  discussed  the  probable  results  of  the  proposed 
Congress ;  he  reviewed  the  negotiations  connect 
ed  with  it  and  the  communications  of  the  Execu 
tive  regarding  it ;  he  examined,  much  at  length, 
the  policy  of  our  own  government  with  respect 
to  alliances  with  foreign  nations,  and  discussed, 
with  singular  felicity  of  argument  and  illustration, 
the  principles  which  should  control  our  intercourse 
with  foreign  powers  ;  he  showed  in  what  instances, 
hitherto,  those  principles  had  been  violated,  and 
the  fatal  consequences  which  flowed  from  every 
violation  ;  he  embraced,  in  short,  a  diplomatic  his 
tory  of  the  United  States,  and  threw  the  full  light 
of  history,  experience  and  argument  upon  the 
question  then  pending.  From  one  of  his  speeches 


248  THE   LIFE  OF 

on  this  important  subject,  the  following  extracts 
are  taken.  They  are  fraught  with  rich  political 
information,  and  characterized  by  those  profound 
political  views  which  appear  in  all  his  discussions 
of  important  matters.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find,  within  the  same  narrow  compass,  more  po 
litical  truth,  richer  historical  facts,  or  more  just 
views  of  the  true  nature  and  policy  of  our  govern 
ment. 


"  I  will  now,  Mr.  President,  call  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  to  another  view  of  this  subject,  to  a  question  of 
the  gravest  character,  and  most  deeply  affecting  the  dear 
est  interest  of  the  country — a  question  growing  out  of 
considerations  which  have  heretofore  occupied  the  best 
minds,  and  interested  the  purest  hearts  our  country  Jias 
produced :  -  '  WOULD  IT  BE  WISE  IN  us  TO  CHANGE  OUR 

ESTABLISHED  POLICY  UPON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  POLITICAL  CON 
NECTIONS  WITH  FOREIGN  STATES?'  The  President  has 
said,  that,  'to  form  alliances,'  is  not  among  the  motives 
of  our  attendance  at  the  Congress.  But  what  description 
of  alliance  does  he  mean  ?  They  are  of  various  kinds, 
and  of  different  extent.  We  are,  at  that  Congress,  to 
stipulate  in  some  form,  (and  I  care  not  in  what,)  that 
we  will  resist  any  attempt  at  colonization,  by  the  Powers 
of  Europe,  in  this  hemisphere,  (or  within  our  own  bor 
ders  if  you  please,)  and  that  in  the  event  of  any  interfer 
ence  on  their  part,  in  the  struggle  between  Spain  and  the 
Spanish  American  states,  we  will  make  common  cause 
with  the  latter  in  resisting  it.  To  this  end  we  have  been 
invited,  and  upon  these  points  we  have  promised  that  our 
ministers  shall  have  full  powers.  We  must  do  this,  or 
the  whole  affair  becomes  empty  pageantry  ;  which,  though 
it  may  be  the  offspring  of  personal  ambition,  will  assur 
edly  terminate  in  national  disgrace.  Call  it  an  '  alliance,' 
or  whatever  name  you  please,  it  is  a  political  connection, 
at  war  with  the  established  policy  of  our  government. 
And  is  this  a  light  matter?  Sir,  when  it  is  proposed  to 
subvert  a  fundamental  principle  in  our  foreign  policy,  in 
the  support  of  which  we  stand  ALONE  among  all  the  na 
tions  of  the  earth — which,  commencing  with  our  govern 
ment,  is  endeared  to  the  people,  and  upon  whose  deep 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  349 

foundations  has  been  erected  the  magnificent  superstruc 
ture  of  unequalled  national  prosperity — it  surely  becomes 
those  entrusted  with  the  management  of  affairs,  to  pause, 
and  weigh,  with  scrupulous  exactness,  the  importance  of 
the  step. 

"In  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  I  shall  first  consider 
the  genera]  principle  :  then  the  grounds  of  the  distinction 
attempted    to    be    made  between    its  application    to  the 
Spanish   American  states,   and  to  those  of  Europe.     At 
this  moment  the  United  States,  (thanks  to  the  wisdom  of 
their  early   counsels  !)  are    unfettered.     No  government 
has  a  right  to  demand  our  aid  or  interference  in  any  of 
the  changes  in    the  condition  of  the  world — come  what 
may,   we  are  now  unembarrased    in  our  choice.     Until 
lately,  I  had  flattered  myself  that  the  acknowledged  obli 
gation  on  the  part  of  our  government    to  maintain  that 
condition,  was  as  firmly  fixed  as  its  republican  character. 
I  had  the  best  reason  to  think  so,  because  I  knew  it  to  be 
a  principle  in  our  political  policy,  which  had  for  its  sup 
port  all  that  is  instructive  in  experience,  all  that  is  vener 
able  in  authority.    That  authority  is  no  less  than  the  part 
ing   admonitions    of  the    Father  of   his   Country.     The 
earnest,  eloquent,  and  impressive   appeals  upon  this  sub 
ject,  contained  in  his  Farewell  Address,  are  yet,  and  will, 
I  trust,  long  remain,  fresh  in  our  recollections ;  nor  were 
the  sentiments  he  thus  avowed  mere  speculative  opinions, 
founded  upon  an  abstract  consideration  of  the   subject. 
No  !  they  were  sentiments  matured  by  reflection,  and  con 
firmed  by  actual  experience,  of  the  practical  results  which 
had  arisen  from  a  connection  of  the   character  he  so   ar 
dently  and  so  justly  deprecated.     A  reference  to  the  his 
tory  of  that  period  will  illustrate  the  fact,  and  is  replete 
with  instruction.     During  the  war  of  our  Revolution,  we 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  France,  '  the  essential  and 
direct  end  of  which  was,  to  maintain  effectually  the  liber 
ty,  sovereignty,  and  independence,  of  the  United  States, 
absolute  and  unlimited,  as  well  in  matters  of  government 
as  of  commerce.'     By  the   treaty  of  alliance,  we,  in  con 
sideration  of  the  guarantee  by  France  of  the  freedom  and 
independence  of  the  United  States,  undertook,   on  our 
part,  to  guarantee  to  France  the  possessions  she  then  had 
in  America.     The   revolution   in  France  involved   that 
country    in    war  with    the   principal  powers  of  Europe. 
Her  American  possessions  were  brought  in  danger;  and, 
among  other  things,  claimed  under  the  treaty  of  alliance, 
she  called  upon  us   for  the  fulfilment  of  our  guarantee, 


250  THE  LIFE  OF 

At  no  period  of  our  history  has  our  government  been  pla 
ced  in  a  more  humiliating  and  embarrassing  situation. 
The  signal  benefits  we  had  received  from  France  were 
known'to  the  world,  and  fully  appreciated  by  our  citizens. 
Upon  the  terms  of  the  compa'ct  there  could  be  no  dispute. 
The  consideration  upon  which  we  had  entered  into  it, 
was  of  the  most  sacred  character.  But  the  danger  of 
compliance  was  imminent,  and  prevailed  over  every  other 
consideration.  Reposing  itself  upon  the  great  principle 
of  self-preservation— &  principle,  extending  itself  as  well 
to  nations  as  individuals— our  government  refused  to  com 
ply  with  its  engagement  ;  and  General  Washington  issu 
ed  his  celebrated  proclamation  of  neutrality.  The  grounds 
relied  upon  to  justify  the  step  were,  that  our  alliance  was 
a  defensive  one  only  ;  that  the  war,  on  the  part  of  France, 
was  an  offensive  war,  in  which  we  were  not  obliged,  by 
the  law  of  nations,  to  take  part ;  that  the  contest  was, 
moreover,  so  unequal,  and  our  means  so  inadequate,  that, 
upon  the  principle  of  self-preservation,  we  were  justified 
in  refusing  to  take  part  with  our  ally.  It  was  not  expect 
ed  that  France  would  acquiesce  in  the  validity  of  the 
grounds  thus  taken.  She  did  not.  The  loud,  solemn 
protests  of  her  Ministers  are  remembered ;  as  also,  the 
measures  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining,  indi 
rectly,  some  of  the  advantages  claimed  from  the  alliance  ; 
such  as  fitting  out  vessels  of  war  in  our  ports,  and  en 
listing  our  citizens  in  her  service.  England  remonstrated, 
made  strong  imputations  of  partiality  against  our  govern 
ment—imputations  founded  on  suspicions  growing  out  of 
the  known  connexion  between  us  and  France— and  re 
stored  to  similar  means  to  annoy  her  enemies  and  commit 
our  neutrality.  General  Washington  found  it  impossible 
to  satisfy  either  party  of  the  strict  impartiality  that  gov 
erned  our  conduct.  The  result  was  war,  in  fact,  with 
France,  and  many  of  the  evils  of  war  with  England. 
She  enforced  against  our  commerce  new  and  unjustifiable 
principles  of  public  law  on  the  subject  of  blockades  and 
articles  contraband  of  war.  The  sagacious  mind  of 
Washington,  and  the  great  men  who  enjoyed  his  confi 
dence,  traced  the  multiplied  embarrassments  of  the  coun 
try  at  that  trying  period,  to  the  treaty  of  alliance  with 
France.  *  * 

"At  the  extra  session  of  Congress,  in  May  1797,  his 
successor,  in  his  message  to  that  body,  thus  expressed  him 
self: 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  351 

Extract  from  Hie  Message  of  President  Adams  to  Con 
gress  in  1798. 

"  '  Although  it  is  very  true,  that  we  ought  not  to  involve 
ourselves  in  the  political  system  of  Europe,  but  to  keep 
ourselves  distinct  and  separate  from  it,  if  we  can  ;  yet,  to 
effect  this  separation,  early,  punctual,  and  continued  in 
formation  of  the  current  chain  of  events,  and  of  the 
political  projects  in  contemplation,  is  no  less  necessary 
than  if  we  were  directly  concerned  in  them.  It  is  neces 
sary,  in  order  to  the  discovery  of  ihe  efforts  made  to  draw 
us  into  the  vortex,  in  season  to  make  preparations  against 
them.  However  we  may  consider  ourselves,  the  mari 
time  and  commercial  powers  of  the  world  will  consider 
the  United  States  of  America,  as  forming  a  weight  in 
that  balance  of  power  in  Europe,  which  never  can  be 
forgotten  or  neglected.  It  would  not  only  be  against  our 
interest,  but  it  would  be  doing  wrong  to  one  half  of  Eu 
rope  at  least,  if  we  should  voluntarily  throw  ourselves  into 
either  scale.  It  is  a  natural  policy,  for  a  nation  that 
studies  to  be  neutral,  to  consult  with  other  nations  engag 
ed  in  the  same  studies  and  pursuits.  At  the  same  time 
that  measures  ought  to  be  pursued  with  this  view,  our 
treaties  with  Prussia  and  Sweden,  one  of  which  is  ex 
pired,  and  the  other  near  expiring,  might  be  renewed.' 

"This  communication  was  followed  by  the  nomination 
of  a  minister,  (the  present  President  of  the  United 
States.)  to  Berlin,  to  carry  into  effect  the  avowed  object 
of  the  mission.  This  early  departure  from  the  principles, 
and  disregard  of  the  precepts  of  Washington,  was  met 
by  the  united  and  most  vigorous  opposition  of  the  republi 
cans  of  that  day.  An  attempt  was  first  made  in  the  Sen 
ate  to  defeat  the  mission,  on  the  ground  of  its  inexpedi 
ency.  That  failing,  the  appropriation  was  resisted  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  in  a  debate  that  lasted  for 
several  weeks.  It  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  first  great 
collision,  between  the  republicans  of  that  day,  and  the 
then  President.  A  singular  and  extraordinary  similarity 
will  be  found  between  the  question  then  agitated,  and  the 
one  now  under  discussion.  It  was  then  contended  that 
the  United  States  ought  to  consult  with  other  nations  en 
gaged  in  the  same  studies  and  pursuits,  and  that  meas 
ures  ought  to  be  pursued  with  that  view.  Those  meas 
ures  were  understood  to  be  the  formation  of  political  con 
nections,  (beyond  the  ordinary  commercial  treaties,)  in 
order  to  secure  co-operation  in  support  of  their  common 
interest ;  and  further,  that  it  belonged  to  the  President  to 


252  THE  LIFE  OP 

decide  on  the  question  of  the  propriety  of  a  mission  for 
that  purpose,  and  that  the  Senate  were  only  to  pass  on 
the  fitness  of  the  persons  nominated.  What  is  now  con 
tended  for,  and  what  the  policy  we  resist  ?  That,  having 
a  common  interest  with  the  Spanish  American  states,  we 
ought  to  meet  with  them  in  Congress — in  the  language 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  speaking  in  the  name  of  the 
President,  for  the  purpose  of  '  settling  several  important 
questions  of  public  law,  and  arranging  other  matters  of 
deep  interest  to  the  American  Continent.'  What  those 
matters  are,  and  how  they  are  to  be  arranged,  has,  I  hope, 
been  fully  developed  ;  and  further,  that  '  this  measure  is 
deemed  to  be  within  the  constitutional  competency  of  the 
Executive ;'  that  we  are  only  consulted  to  obtain  our 
opinion  on  its  '  expediency,'  and  because  it  is  necessary 
to  come  to  us  for  'an  appropriation,  without  which,  the 
measure  cannot  be  carried  into  effect.'  Yes,  sir,  the  first 
blow  that  was  struck  in  that  great  contest,  which  subse 
quently  convulsed  the  country,  and  the  first  voice  that 
was  raised  to  arrest  the  current  of  events  then  setting  in, 
were  on  points,  to  all  substantial  purposes,  identical  with 
the  present.  Is  it  not  a  startling,  if  not  an  ominous  cir 
cumstance,  that,  so  soon,  under  the  present  administra 
tion,  we  should  have  presented  to  us,  in  such  bold  relief, 
doctrines  and  principles,  which,  in  the  first,  year  of  that  to 
which  I  have  referred,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  most  bit 
ter  and  unrelenting  feuds  ?  Does  the  analogy  stop  here  ? 
The  men  who  then  opposed  the  mission  to  Berlin  Avere 
denounced  as  oppositionists ;  as  a  faction  who  sought  the 
gratification  of  their  personal  views,  at  the  expense  of  the 
public  good  ;  they  were  lampooned,  and  villified  by  all 
the  presses  supporting  and  supported  by  the  government, 
and  a  host  of  malicious  parasites  generalled  by  its  patron 
age.  Their  weight  of  character,  the  purity  of  their  lives, 
the  consistency  of  their  principles,  and  their  force  of  rea 
soning,  were  alike  unavailing.  It  was  sufficient  that  they 
dared  to  think  for  themselves ;  to  prefer  what  they  regard 
ed  as  the  interests  of  their  constituents  to  the  wishes  of 
the  Executive  ;  to  refuse  a  ready  acquiescence  in  what 
was  given  them  to  do ;  and  every  puny  w^hipster  in  the  land 
felt  himself  at  liberty,  without  in  the  least  understanding 
the  question  involved,  to  misrepresent  their  acts,  and  im 
pugn  their  motives.  Respect  for  this  body,  and  a  just 
contempt  for  the  venal  efforts  of  venal  men,  restrains  me 
from  pushing  the  parallel  farther.  Covering  themselves 
with  the  mantle  of  Washington,  the  republicans  of  '98 


MARTIN  VAxN  BUREN.  253 

labored  manfully  to  strangle,  at  its  birth,  this  political 
hydra,  this  first  attempt,  since  the  establishment  of  the 
government,  to  subject  our  political  affairs  to  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  apolitical  connection,  with  any  foreign 
nation. 

"  Their  labors  shared  the  fate  which  in  all  probability, 
awaits  the  exertions  of  those  who,  at  this  day,  maintain 
their  doctrines.  They  were  outmustered  at  roll-call. 
They  failed,  mark  it,  by  a  majority  of  four.  The  force 
of  executive  patronage,  aided  by  a  venal  press  was  too 
strong  for  them.  But  of  what  avail  was  success  to  their 
adversaries  ?  A  few  more  such  victories,  and  their  ruin 
was  complete.  The  one  party  succeeded  in  the  House, 
but  the  other  out  of  it.  The  seed  then  sown  took  root. 
The  doctrines  of  the  dominant  party,  inherently  unsound, 
stood  rebuked  before  the  power  and  eloquence  of  their 
adversaries,  and  speedily  received  the  condemnation  of  the 
people;  whilst  the  opposing  principle,  the  principle  for 
which  we  now  contend,  was  rescued  from  the  attack  that 
was  made  upon  it,  and  once  more  registered  among  the 
special  canons  of  the  American  policy.  Its  advocates 
lived  to  see  it  placed  upon  a  fooling  which  they  had  every 
reason  to  believe  would  last,  at  least,  the  short  period  of 
their  existence.  But  how  uncertain  are  all  things  !  '  Let 
no  man  boast  of  to-morrow,  for  he  knoweth  not  what  a 
day  may  bring  forth.'  The  events  of  the  last  month  form 
a  striking  commentary  upon  the  text.  It  is  now  twenty- 
eight  years  since  this  transaction  took  place,  and  there 
are  yet  two  persons  on  this  floor  who  acted  and  voted  to 
gether  upon  that  great  question.  It  has  been  to  me  a  mat 
ter  of  much  interest  to  witness  their  course  at  this  day. 
Of  the  one  I  cannot  speak,  but  hope  for  the  best.  The 
sentiments  of  the  other  (Mr.  Macon.)  are  on  record.  He 
is  yet  the  same  unwavering  republican  that  he  was  in  '98. 
The  principle  now  involved  is  the  same  as  then.  When 
that  is  ascertained,  he  exhibits  neither  trembling  nor  hesi 
tation.  With  a  mind  vigorous,  though  mellowed  by  ex 
perience,  firmly  relying  on  the  republic,  he  follows  the 
maxims  of  his  early  years.  The  circumstances  under 
which  I  speak  restrains  me.  But  this  much  I  will  say: 
The  man  who  has  occupied  a  seat  here  and  in  the  other 
House,  during  every  administration  of  the  government, 
from  the  second  year  of  its  institution  to  the  present  day, 
and  who  has  been  wise  enough  to  estimate,  at  their  value, 
the  miserable  illusions  of  Executive  favor,  and  who  pre 
fers  the  approbation  of  his  own  conscience  to  the  mere- 
22 


254  THE  LIFE  OP 

tricious  smile  of  power  ;  who  can  look  back  upon  a  life 
thus  spent,  with  an  entire  consciousness  that  he  never,  in 
a  single  instance,  postponed  the  interests  of  his  constitu 
ents  to  promote  his  own  ;  deserves  to  be  regarded  as  a 
monument  of  fidelity  and  consistency,  alike  honorable  to 
his  state,  and  beneficial  to  his  country.  But  to  return  to 
the  circumstances  of  that  eventful  period :  The  ball  of  po 
litical  revolution,  which  was  set  in  motion  by  the  debate 
on  the  Berlin  mission,  was  pressed  rapidly  forward  by 
successive  measures  of  equally  exceptionable  character, 
until  finally  it  effected  the  total  overthrow  of  the  party  then 
in  power,  and  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  Presi 
dential  chair.  The  creed  of  this  great  Father  of  our  po 
litical  church,  was,  '  Peace,  commerce,  and  honest  friend 
ship,  with  all  nations  ;  entangling  alliances  with  none  :' 
In  strict  conformity  to  the  principle  of  Washington,  ad 
vising  an  'extension  of  our  commercial  relations,  but  as 
little  political  connection  as  possible.  So  far  as  we  have 
already  formed  engagements,  let  them  be  fulfilled  with 
perfect  good  faith ;  but  here  let  us  stop  /'  During  the 
whole  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration,  the  whole  of  Mr. 
Madison's,  and  the  first  four  years  of  Mr.  Monroe's,  (with 
a  single  attempted  exception,)  the  principles  avowed  by 
the  two  great  founders  of  the  republic  were  respected, 
and  the  result  was  good.  The  exception  to  which  I  al 
lude  was  this  :  Influenced  by  that  deep  solicitude  for  the 
welfare  of  our  Western  brethren,  which  always  has,  and 
I  trust  always  will,  influence  the  councils  of  the  country, 
the  government  was,  in  1803,  induced  to  offer,  through 
Mr.  Pinckney,  our  Minister  at  Madrid,  '  to  guaranty  to 
the  King  of  Spain,  and  his  successors,  his  dominions  be 
yond  the  Mississippi,'  if  he  would  sell  to  the  United 
States  his  possession  between  that  and  the  river  Mobile. 
The  desire  to  obtain  the  cession,  it  is  well  known,  grew 
out  of  the  dispute  relative  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  the  questions  connected  therewith.  In  the 
discussion  with  our  government,  in  1818,  relative  to  the 
cession  of  the  Floridas?  Spain  brought  forward  that  offer 
in  1803,  claiming  that  it  proposed  a  guarantee  of  her  terri 
tory  as  far  as  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  desiring  to 
make  it  a  condition  of  the  cession.  The  change  of  cir 
cumstances  since  produced  in  Spanish  America/ ^iad 
taught  her  the  immense  value  of  the  guarantee.  Our 
Minister  at  Madrid,  (Mr.  Erving,)  denied  that  such  an 
offer  had  ever  been  made.  Mr.  Pinckney's  letter  was 
produced.  A  controversy  succeeded  as  to  its  construction, 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  355 

which  resulted  in  an  explicit  declaration  that,  under  no 
circumstances,  would  the  United  States  make  the  guaran 
tee  in  question.  The  altered  state  of  things  had  shown 
that  a  stipulation,  from  which  no  harm  was  apprehended 
in  1800,  could  not,  in  1818,  be  listened  to  for  a  moment. 
By  sheer  good  fortune  we  escaped  from  this  entangling 
connection.  What,  sir  would  have  been  the  probable 
consequences,  if  Spain  had  accepted  the  guarantee  which 
was  claimed  to  have  been  offered  ?  Instead  of  being  the 
great  patron  of  the  Spanish  American  cause,  we  might,  at 
this  moment,  have  been  engaged  in  a  war,  either  with 
Mexico,  for  attempting  to  fulfil,  or  with  Spain,  for  viola 
ting  our  guarantee;  and  yet,  with  all  the  lights  of  experi 
ence  before  our  eyes,  it  is  desired  to  hurry  us  into  similar 
compacts,  the  consequences  of  which  we  cannot  foresee, 
but  which  we  well  know  may,  by  the  course  of  events, 
compel  us  either  to  violate  our  plighted  faith,  or  act 
against  what  may  hereafter  appear  to  be  our  best  inter 
ests. 

"  Our  next  attempt  to  form  a  foreign  connection,  other 
than  a  commercial,  was  the  negotiation  of  treaties  of  con 
cert  and  co-operation  with  England  and  the  Republic  of 
Colombia,  on  the  subject  of  the  Slave  Trade.  A  brief 
sketch  of  the  course  and  consequences  of  that  ill-judged 
measure,  will  not  be  without  instruction  upon  the  subject 
before  us.  From  1794  to  1808,  when  the  constitutional 
inhibition  upon  Congress  in  relation  to  the  slave  trade  ex 
pired,  a  system  of  wise,  and  as  far  as  the  power  of  the 
government  extended,  efficient  legislation,  was  adopted 
for  the  suppression  of  that  detestable  traffic.  From  the 
latter  period  to  the  year  1819,  our  legislation  assumed  a 
wider  range,  and  still  more  efficient  character,  until,  final 
ly,  the  offence  was  denounced  as  piracy,  the  punishment 
due  to  that  crime  prescribed,  and  the  Executive  clothed 
with  power  and  means  fully  adequate  to  the  execution  of 
the  law  and  the  suppression  of  the  trade  ;  so  far  at  least 
as  our  citizens  were  concerned.  The  measures  then 
adopted,  effected  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  design 
ed.  They  did  more.  They  extorted  from  England,  who, 
next  to  the  United  States,  has  recently  been  foremost  in 
the  adoption  of  means  to  this  end,  the  unqualified  admis 
sion,  not  only  that  the  United  States  had  been  the  first, 
but  also  the  most  successful,  laborers  in  the  cause  of  hu 
manity. 

"  Thus  matters  stood  at  the  period  which  I  have  men 
tioned,  Our  government  unfortunately  not  content  with 


256  THE  LIFE  OF 

well,  must  seek  for  better,  and  the  negotiations  of  which  I 
speak  were  opened.  So  too  with  our  affairs  with  the 
Spanish  American  states  ;  they  stand  well ;  we  have  done 
all  they  expected  of  us,  and  more  than  they  had  a  right  to 
ask.  What  we  have  done  has  reflected  credit  upon  us, 
and  has  been  serviceable  to  them.  Not  content  with  this 
we  are  hurrying  on  in  the  usual  course  ;  partial  success  is 
leading  us  to  injurious  excess.  But  to  return  :  the  Presi 
dent  negotiated  a  treaty  with  England,  yielding,  under 
certain  modifications,  the  right  of  search,  and  authorizing 
a  foreign  power  to  enforce  our  own  laws  upon  our  own 
citizens.  I  need  not  state  to  this  body  the  fate  of  that  ill 
advised  project  The  treaty  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of 
the  Senate.  A  similar  one  with  the  republic  of  Colom 
bia  shared  the  same  fate  ;  and  although  the  vote  against 
the  English  treaty  was  small,  so  rapidly  did  the  sentiment 
of  opposition  to  the  principle  increase,  that  the  rejection 
of  the  latter  treaty,  at  a  subsequent  session,  was  nearly 
unanimous.  Who  is  there  now  on  this  floor,  that  would 
give  his  vote  in  favor  of  a  similar  measure  ?  But  it  seems 
that  the  light  of  experience  has  been  shed  in  vain  upon 
this  obstinate  propensity  to  figure  in  the  diplomacy  neces 
sarily  growing  out  of  foreign  connection.  The  results  of 
the  particular  measures  now  referred  to,  were,  as  we  all 
remember,  contention  at  home,  and  dissatisfaction  abroad; 
a  correspondence,  with  England,  of  not  the  most  friendly 
character,  in  which  long  explanations  were  made  neces 
sary,  of  the  character  of  our  Government,  to  satisfy  other 
powers  that  the  President  was  not  responsible  for  the  act 
of  the  Senate.  Explanations  were  made  with  great  abili 
ty  by  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  subsequently  en 
forced  with  equal  ability  by  the  present  Secretary.  The 
matter  was  understood  here,  and  perhaps  by  the  govern 
ments  to  whom  those  explanations  were  made  ;  but,  to  a 
great  part  of  the  world,  it  appeared  that  the  zeal  of  the 
United  States  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  had 
abated.  The  high  character  we  had  acquired  for  our  early 
and  unceasing  labors  in  that  great  cause,  was  not  indeed 
destroyed;  for  that  could  not  be  easily  effected;  but  our 
motives  were  exposed  to  misconstruction,  and  are  now 
misrepresented  by  those  who  do  not  understand  the  struc 
ture  of  our  government.  Such,  sir,  was  the  consequence 
of  this  third  attempt  to  surrender  the  control  of  our  con 
duct,  in  the  support  of  our  rights,  or  the  discharge  of  our 
duties,  to  foreign  associations  ;  such  the  penalty  of  disre 
garding  the  warning  voice  of  Washington — '  never  aban- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  257 

don  our  own  to  stand  on  foreign  ground.'      Such  are 
among  the  least  evils  that  have,  sooner  or  later,  in  a  great 
er  or  less  degree,  been  the  consequence  of  political  con 
nections  between  different  nations,  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
places.     Permit  me  to  refer  the  Senate  to  a  transaction  of 
the  same  character  between  other  states.     In   1815,  the 
Plenipotentiaries  from  the  five  great  European  Powers, 
viz  :  England,  France,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  con 
vened  at  Vienna,  declared  to  the  Avorld  that  they  would 
unite  their  means  for  the  effectual  suppression  of  the  slave 
trade.     The  settlement  of  those  means  was  deferred  to  a 
future  period.     At  the  conference  of  the  Plenipotentiaries 
of  the  same  powers,  in  1818,  at  Aix  la  Chapelle,  an  at 
tempt  was  made  to  agree  upon  the  means  necessary  to 
effect  their  declared  object.     Then  occurred,  what  always 
will  occur,  except  in  cases  of  great  emergency— like  the 
recent  coalitions  among  the  powers  of  Europe  against  that 
of  Napoleon,  when  the  very  existence  of  several  of  the  al 
lied  powers  was  involved — the  difficulty  of  agreeing  upon 
the  terms  of  co-operation  among  nations  having  different 
interests,  feelings,  prejudices,  and  views.     England  pro 
posed  the  extension  of  the  right  of  search,  as  the  only 
means  adapted  to  the  end.     Negotiation  was  commenced 
and  continued,  until,  finally,  the  measure   proposed  by 
England  was  refused,  or  evaded,  by  all  the  powers,  and 
the  conference  dissolved,  leaving  the  celebrated  declara 
tion  made  at  Vienna,  unexecuted,  and  producing  naught 
but  mutual  distrust  and  dissatisfaction  ;  Thus  showing 
how  easy  it  is  for  nations  to  unite  in  the  avowal  of  a  gen 
eral  principle— how  difficult  to  agree  upon  the  means  of 
enforcing  it.     So  will  it  be  with  us  and  our  South  Ameri 
can  friends  and  neighbors.     There  may  be  little  difficulty 
in  uniting  in  avowing  as  a  principle,  that  these  continents 
are  no  longer  fit  subjects  for  European  colonization,  or  to 
protest  ascainst  the  interference  of  Europe  in  the  affairs  of 
Spanish  "America.     But  the  moment  we  proceed  to  stipu 
late  as  to  the  means  of  enforcing  it,  difficulties  will  occur 
that  in  all  human  probability,  will  impair  the  friendly  re 
lations  now  existing  between  us.     They  will  occur  first  in 
the  negotiation,  and,  if  these  are  surmounted,  certainly  in 
the  application  of  the  principles  established,  when   the 
time  for  their  application  unhappily  occurs. 

"  But  I  cannot  consent  to  trespass  longer  upon  the  time 
of  the  Senate  in  pushing  the  discussion  of  this  point  fur 
ther,  although  various  considerations,  operating  against  the 
measure,  press  upon  my  mind.  If  it  were  proposed  to  form 
22* 


258  THE  LIFE  OF 

a  connection  with  any  European  power,  such  as  now  de 
signed  with  the  Spanish  American  states,  it  is  hoped  and 
believed,  that  the  measure  would  not  meet  with  one  ap 
proving  voice — shall  I  say — on  this  floor?  No,  not  in  the 
country.  But  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  United  States 
ought  to  pursue  a  different  policy  with  respect  to  the 
states  in  this  hemisphere.  It  is  true,  Mr.  Monroe,  in  his 
message,  makes  a  distinction  of  this  character,  although 
he  by  no  means  carries  it  to  the  extent  proposed.  If  he 
did,  all  that  the  distinction  could  derive  from  that  cir 
cumstance,  would  be,  the  weight  of  his  opinion,  always 
considerable,  but  never  decisive.  The  question  still  re 
curs,  is  the  distinction  founded  in  principle  and  policy  ? 
If  it  be,  it  must  arise  from  one  of  two  reasons  ;  either  the 
character  of  the  governments  of  the  Spanish  American 
states,  or  their  local  situation  ;  or,  perhaps,  from  both. 
The  United  States  have  hailed  the  emancipation  of  those 
states  with  satisfaction  ;  they  have  our  best  wishes  for  the 
perpetuity  of  their  freedom.  So  far  as  we  could  go  to  aid 
them  in  the  establishment  of  their  independence,  without 
endangering  the  peace,  or  embarrassing  the  relation  of 
our  country,  we  have  gone.  More  than  that  ought  not  to 
be  asked.  Nor  has  it.  Sensible  of  the  embarrassments 
which  their  invitation  might  produce,  they  declined  to 
proffer  it  until  advised  that  we  desired  to  receive  it.  Next 
to  being  right,  it  is  important  to  governments,  as  well  as 
individuals,  to  be  consistent.  Has  the  character  of  these 
governments  been  the  principle  upon  which  we  have 
hitherto  acted  in  relation  to  those  states?  It  has  not. 
Mexico  and  Brazil  were  the  last  to  shake  off  their  depen 
dence  on  foreign  authority.  They  were  among  the  first 
whose  independence  we  acknowledged.  Mexico  was,  at 
the  period  of  its  acknowledgement,  under  the  dominion  of 
the  Emperor  Iturbide,  and  Brazil  of  its  Emperor,  Don 
Pedro.  As  a  special  compliment  to  the  Emperor  of  Mex 
ico,  we  sent,  or  rather  intended  to  send,  to  his  Court,  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  nation,  (General 
Jackson.)  At  the  court  of  the  Emperor  Don  Pedro,  we 
have  our  Minister;  whilst  in  the  republic  of  Peru — the 
power  Avith  which  the  first  of  the  treaties,  in  virtue  of 
which  the  Congress  of  Panama  is  to  be  held,  was  con 
cluded — we  have  not  yet  been  represented.  Do  our  prin 
ciples  admit  that  we  should  adopt  the  measures  proposed 
with  such  reference,  and  upon  such  grounds  ?  What  are 
those  principles?  That  man  is  capable  of  self  govern 
ment;  that  the  people  of  every  country  should  be  left  to 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  259 

the  free  selection  of  such  form  of  government  as  they  think 
best  adapted  to  their  situation,  and  to  change  it  as  their 
interests,  in  their  own  judgments,  may  seem  to  require. 
Wherein  consists  our  objection  to  the  Holy  Alliance  ? 
Because  they  confederate  to  maintain  governments  simi 
lar  to  their  own,  by  force  of  arms,  instead  of  the  force  of 
reason,  and  the  will  of  the  governed.  If  we,  too,  confed 
erate  to  sustain,  by  the  same  means,  governments  similar 
to  our  own,  wherein  consists  the  difference,  except  the 
superiority  of  our  cause  ?  What  is  their  avowed  motive  ? 
Self-preservation,  and  the  peace  of  Europe.  What 
would  be  ours  ?  Self-preservation^  and  the  peace  of 
America.  I  wish  to  be  understood.  I  detest,  as  much 
as  any  man,  the  principles  of  the  Holy  Alliance.  I  yield 
to  no  man  iu  my  anxious  wishes  for  the  success  of  the 
Spanish  American  states.  I  will  go  as  far  as  I  think  any 
American  citizen  ought  to  go,  to  secure  to  them  the  bles 
sings  of  free  government.  I  commend  the  solicitude 
which  has  been  manifested  by  our  government  upon  this 
subject,  and  have,  of  course,  no  desire  to  discourage  it. 
But  I  am  against  all  alliances,  against  all  armed  confed 
eracies,  or  confederacies  of  any  sort.  I  care  not  how  spe 
cious,  or  how  disguised  ;  come  in  what  shape  they  may,  I 
oppose  them.  The  states  in  question  have  the  power  and 
the  means,  if  united  and  true  to  their  principles,  to  resist 
any  force  that  Europe  can  send  against  them.  It  is  only 
by  being  recreant  to  the  principles  upon  which  their  rev 
olution  is  founded  ;  by  suffering  foreign  influence  to  dis 
tract  and  divide  them  ;  that  their  independence  can  be  en 
dangered.  But,  happen  what  may,  our  course  should  be 
left  to  our  choice,  whenever  occasion  for  acting  shall  oc 
cur.  If,  in  the  course  of  events,  designs  shall  be  manifes 
ted,  or  steps  taken  in  this  hemisphere  by  any  foreign  pow 
er  which  so  far  affect  our  interest  or  our  honor,  as  to  make 
it  necessary  that  we  should  arm  in  their  defence,  it  will 
be  done  :  there  is  no  room  to  doubt  it. 

"  The  decision  of  that  question  may  safely  be  left  to 
those  who  come  after  us.  That  love  of  country,  and  of 
freedom,  which  now  animates  our  public  councils,  is  not 
confined  to  us,  or  likely  to  become  extinct.  We  require 
neither  alliance  nor  agreement  to  compel  us  to  perform 
whatever  our  duty  enjoins.  Our  national  characte'r  is  our 
best,  and  should  be  our  only  pledge.  Meanwhile,  let  us 
bestow  upon  our  neighbors,"  the  young  republics  of  the 
South,  the  moral  aid  of  a  good  example.  To  make  that 


260         LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

example  more  salutary,  let  it  exhibit  our  moderation  in 
success,  our  firmness  in  adversity,  our  devotion  to  our 
country  and  its  institutions,  and,  above  all,  that  sine  qua 
non  to  the  existence  of  our  republican  government — our 
fidelity  to  a  written  Constitution" 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


MK.  VAN  BUREN'S  opinions  on  the  constitutionality  and 
expediency  of  appropriations  of  money  by  the  Gener 
al  Government  for  Internal  Improvements. 

On  the  22d  of  January  1824,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
called  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  the  alarming 
assumption  of  power,  by  the  General  Government, 
in  regard  to  internal  improvements;  and  after 
stating  the  differences  of  opinion  which  had  arisen 
between  the  Executive  and  Congress,  on  several 
occasions,  and  the  conflicting  sentiments  of  differ 
ent  sections  of  the  Union,  he  proposed  sundry 
amendments  to  the  constitution,  going  to  limit  and 
define  the  exercise  of  this  power  and  secure  the 
state  sovereignties  from  encroachments. 

On  the  19th  of  December  1825,  he  again  brought 
forward  the  same  subject,  and  offered  two  resolu 
tions,  one  of  which  declared  "  that  Congress  does 
not  possess  the  power  to  make  roads  and  canals 
within  the  respective  states  ;"  and  the  other  pro- 


262  THE  LIFE  OF 

posed  a  select  committee  to  prepare  an  amend 
ment  to  the  constitution,  "  prescribing  and  defining 
the  power  Congress  shall  have  over  the  subject 
of  internal  improvements,  and  subjecting  the  same 
to  such  restrictions  as  shall  effectually  protect  the 
sovereignty  of  the  respective  states,  and  secure  to 
them  a  just  distribution  of  the  benefits  resulting 
from  all  appropriations  made  for  that  purpose." 

He  urged  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to 
the  states,  on  the  ground  that  the  power  of  Con 
gress  to  legislate  upon  the  subject  had  been  a  con 
stant  source  of  unpleasant  controversy ;  that  the 
different  departments  of  the  government  had  nev 
er  been  of  one  opinion  upon  the  subject;  that  its 
friends  entertained  different  views  of  its  source  in 
the  constitution,  and  of  its  extent  and  attributes, 
and  that  the  opposition  to  its  exercise  would  never 
be  abandoned.  He  said  an  appeal  to  the  states 
had  been  suggested  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1808,  and 
further  recommended  by  Mr.  Madison  and  Mr. 
Monroe. 

The  progressive  encroachments  of  the  federal 
Government  upon  the  rights  of  the  states  in  this 
particular,  were  viewed  with  unceasing  anxiety  by 
the  republican  party  throughout  the  country.  Mr. 
Jefferson  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Gooch  about  this  peri 
od,  expressed  the  most  melancholy  forebodings. 
"That,  at  some  future  day,"  said  he,  "which  I 
hoped  to  be  very  distant,  the  free  principles  of  our 
government  might  change  with  the  change  of  cir 
cumstances,  was  to  be  expected.  But  I  certainly 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  263 

did  not  expect  that  they  would  not  over-live  the 
generation  which  established  them."  After  indul 
ging  in  other  similar  remarks,  and  pleading  his  great 
age  as  an  excuse  for  not  entering  upon  their  de 
fence,  he  subjoins  :  "  I  will  however  say  one  word 
on  the  subject.  The  South  Carolina  resolutions, 
Van  Buren's  motion,  and  above  all  Bailey's  propo 
sitions,  show  that  other  states  are  coming  forward 
on  the  subject :  and  better  for  any  one  to  take  the 
lead  than  Virginia,  where  opposition  is  considered 
as  common  place,  and  a  mere  matter  of  form  and 
habit."* 

At  every  point,  these  encroachments  wrere  re 
sisted  by  Mr.  Van  Buren.  On  the  21st  of  April, 
during  the  same  session  of  Congress,  he  opposed 
the  appropriation  for  the  Louisville  canal,  and  said  : 
"  the  aid  of  this  government  can  only  be  afforded 
to  these  objects  of  improvement,  in  three  ways  ;  by 
making  a  road  or  canal  and  assuming  jurisdiction  ; 
by  making  a  road  or  canal  without  assuming  juris 
diction,  leaving  it  to  the  states  ;  or  by  making  an 
appropriation  without  doing  either.  In  his  opin 
ion,  the  General  Government  had  no  right  to  do 
either,  and  at  some  future  time  he  should  offer  his 
reasons  in  support  of  this  opinion." 

So  on  the  15th  of  the  following  May,  on  the 
proposal  to  subscribe  to  the  Dismal  Swamp  canal, 
Mr.  Van  Buren  said  : 

"  He  would  not  vote  for  the  bill  for  he  did  not  believe 
that  this  government  possessed  the  constitutional  power 
to  make  these  canals,  or  to  grant  money  to  make  them. 

*  Jefferson's  Works.  Vol.  IV.  p.  424. 


264  THE  LIFE  OK 

*  *  If  he  believed  in  the  power  of  the  government  to 
arrant  money  for  this  purpose,  the  present  mode  would  be 
the  last  one  he  should  think  of  adopting.  If  there  was 
any  grant  of  monev,  at  all,  for  this  purpose,  it  should  1 
direct  Where  aid  was  granted  in  the  mode  now  propos 
ed,  abuses  would  creep  in,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
deception  would  be  practised.  In  the  state  of  New  York, 
Mr  Van  Buren  said,  they  had  had  full  experience  ot  this, 
in  the  application  for  charters  for  banks;  plausible  pre 
tences  were  set  up  that  the  state  would  be  thereby  bene- 
fitted  till  these  practices  became  so  numerous,  that  in  t 
end,  public  opinion  was  decidedly  against  them  and  the 
last  Legislature,  to  their  honor,  had  refused  all  apphca- 
ions  of  this  description.  *  *  As  to  the  question  (of 
constitutionality)  being  settled,  he  should  protest  against 
the  admission  of  such  a  dcctrine;  and  he  should  resist  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  the  idea  that  the  acts  ot  this 
Congress  were  to  bind  him  and  his  constituents  hereaf- 


ter 


In  the  debate  on  Mr.  Foot's  resolution,  to  au 
thorize  the  Vice  President  to  call  to  order  for 
words  spoken  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Van  Buren  se 
verely  reprehended  the  loose  doctrines  of  the  then 
existing  administration  in  regard  to  internal  im 
provements,  and  in  a  note  alludes  to  his  own  course 
in  the  Senate  on  that  interesting  question.  It  is  as 
follows  : 

"Mr.  Van  Buren  is  by  no  means  certain  that  in  this  re 
spect,  he  himself,  has  been  altogether  without  fault.  At  the 
very  first  session  after  he  came  into  the  Senate,  the  knowl 
edge  of  "the  perpetual  drain  that  the  Cumberland  road  was 
destined  to  prove  upon  the  public  Treasury,  unless  some 
means  were  taken  to  prevent  it,  and  a  sincere  desire  to 
go  Tall  times,  as  fa/ as  he  could  consistently  with  the 
Constitution,  to  aid  in  the  improvement,  and  promote  the 
prosperity  of  the  Western  country,  had  induced 
without  fall  examination,  to  vote  for  a  provision,  i author 
izing  the  collection  of  toll  on  this  road.  The  affair  of  the 
Cumberland  road,  in  respect  to  its  reference  to  the  consti 
tutional  powers  of  this  government  is  a  matter  entirely  sui 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

peneris.  It  was  authorized  during  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Jefferson  and  grew  out  of  the  disposition  of  the  terri 
tory  of  the  United  States  through  which  it  passed.  He 
has  never  heard  an  explanation  of  the  subject,  (although 
it  has  been  a  matter  of  constant  reference,)  that  has  been, 
satisfactory  to  his  mind.  All  that  he  can  say  is,  that  if 
the  question  were  again  presented  to  him,  he  would  vote 
against  it ;  and  that  his  regret  for  having  done  otherwise, 
would  be  greater,  had  not  Mr.  Monroe,  much  to  his  credit, 
put  his  veto  upon  the  bill :  and  were  it  not  the  only  vote 
in  the  course  of  a  seven  year's  service,  which  the  most  fas 
tidious  critic  can  torture  into  an  inconsistency  with  the 
principles  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  professed  to  maintain, 
and  in  the  justice  of  which  he  is  every  day  more  and 
more  confirmed. " 

The  course  of  General  Jackson's  administration 
has  done  much  to  throw  light  upon  this  subject,  es 
pecially  his  famous  veto  upon  the  Maysville  Road 
bill.  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  then  a  member  of  the 
cabinet,  and  to  use  his  own  language,  "gave  to  the 
measure  of  which  that  document  was  an  exposi 
tion,  his  active,  zealous,  and  anxious  support." 

A  condensed  view  of  his  sentiments  upon  the 
whole  subject,  is  contained  in  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter  written  by  him,  when  a  candidate  for 
the  Vice  Presidency,  to  a  committee  appointed  by 
a  public  meeting,  at  Shocco  Springs,  North  Caro 
lina.  It  is  dated  in  October  1832. 

"  Internal  improvements  are  so  diversified  in  their  na 
ture,  and  the  public  agency  of  the  Federal  Government 
in  their  construction,  so  variable  in  its  character  and  de 
gree,  as  to  render  it  not  a  little  difficult,  to  lay  down  any 
precise  rule  that  will  embrace  the  whole  subject.  The 
broadest  and  best  defined  division,  is  that  which  distin 
guishes  between  the  direct  construction  of  works  of  in 
ternal  improvement  by  the  General  Government,  and  pe 
cuniary  assistance  given  by  it  to  such  as  are  undertaken 
23 


266  THE  LIF&  CJF 

by  others.  In  the  former,  are  included  the  right  to  make" 
and  establish  roads  and  canals  within  the  states,  and  the; 
assumption  of  as  much  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  they 
may  occupy,  as  is  necessary  to  their  preservation  and  use  f? 
the  latter  is  restricted  to  simple  grants  of  money,  in  aid 
of  such  works,  when  made  under  state  authority. 

"The  Federal  Government  does  not,  in  my  opinion, 
possess  the  power  first  specified  ;  nor  can  it.  derive  it  from 
the  assent  of  the  state  in  which  such  works  were  to  be 
constructed.  The  money  power,  as  it  is  called,  is  not  so- 
free  from  difficulty.  Various  rules  have,  from  time  to 
time,  been  suggested  by  those  who  properly  appreciate  the 
importance  of  precision  and  certainty  in  the  operations 
of  ihe  Federal  power.  But  they  have  been  so  frequently 
infringed  upon  by  the  apparently  unavoidable  action  of 
the  government,  that  a  final  and  satisfactory  settlement 
of  the  question  has  been  prevented.  The  wide  difference 
between  a  definition  of  the  power  in  question  upon  paper, 
and  its  practical  application  to  the  operation  of  govern 
ment,  has  been  sensibly  felt  by  all  who  have  been  en 
trusted  with  the  management  of  public  affairs.  The 
whole  subject  was  reviewed  in  the  President's  Maysville^ 
message.  Sincerely  believing  that  the  best  interests  of 
the  whole  country,  the  quiet,  not  to  say  the  stability  of 
the  Union,  and  the  preservation  of  that  moral  farce  which, 
perhaps,  as  much  as  any  other,  holds  it  together,  imperi 
ously  required  that  the  destructive  course  of  legislation 
upon  that  subject,  then  prevalent,  should  in  some  proper 
and  constitutional  way,  be  averted,  I  throughout,  gave  to 
the  measure  of  which  that  document  was  an  exposition, 
my  active,  zealous,  and  anxious  support. 

"The  opinions  declared  by  the  President  in  the  Mays- 
ville,  and  his  succeeding  annual  messages,  as  I  under 
stand  them,  are  as  follows.  1st.  That  Congress  does  not 
possess  the  power  to  make  or  establish  a  road  or  canal 
within  a  state,  with  a  right  of  jurisdiction  to  the  extent  I 
have  stated  ;  and  that,  if  it  is  the  wish  of  the  people  that 
the  construction  of  such  works  should  be  undertaken  by 
the  Federal  Government,  a  previous  amendment  of  the 
constitution,  conferring  that  power,  and  defining  and  re 
stricting  its  exercise,  with  reference  to  the  sovereignty  of 
the  state,  is  indispensable.  2d.  An  intimation  of  his  be 
lief  that  the  right  to  make  appropriations  in  aid  of  such 
internal  improvements  of  a  national  character,  has  been 
so  generally  acted  upon,  and  so  long  acquiesced  in  by  the 
ede  ral  and  state  governments,  and  the  constituents  of 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  267 

each,  as  to  justify  its  exercise,  but  that  it  is  nevertheless, 
highly  expedient  that  even  such  appropriations  should, 
with  the  exception  of  such  as  relate  to  light  houses,  bea 
cons,  buoys,  public  piers,  and  other  improvements  in  the 
harbors  and  navigable  rivers  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  security  and  facility  of  our  foreign  commerce,  be  de 
ferred,  at  least  until  the  national  debt  is  paid.  3d.  That 
if  it  is  the  wish  of  the  people  that  the  agency  of  the  Fed 
eral  Government  should  be  restricted  to  the  appropriation 
of  money,  and  extended  in  that  form  in  aid  of  such  un 
dertakings,  when  carried  on  by  state  authority,  then  the 
occasion,  the  manner,  and  the  extent  of  the  appropria 
tion,  should  be  made  the  subject  of  constitutional  regula 
tion. 

"  In  these  views  I  concurred,  and  I  likewise  participa 
ted  in  the  difficulties  which  were  encountered  and  ex 
pressed  by  the  President,  in  adopting  the  principle  which 
concedes  to  the  Federal  Government  the  right  to  make 
appropriations  in  aid  of  works  which  might  be  regarded 
as  of  a  national  character  ;  difficulties  which  arose  as 
well  from  the  danger  of  considering  mere  usage  the 
foundation  of  the  right,  as  from  the  extreme  uncertainly 
of  the  best  rule  that  had  ever  been  adopted,  or  that  coulcl 
in  the  absence  of  a  positive  constitutional  provision,  be 
established.  The  reasons  on  which  these  objections 
were  founded,  are  so  fully  stated  in  the  document  refer 
red  to,  and  have  been  so  extensively  promulgated,  that  k 
is  unnecessary  for  me  to  repeat  them  here.  Subsequent 
reflection  and  experience  have  confirmed  my  apprehen 
sions  of  the  injurious  consequences  which  would  flow 
from  the  resumption  of  appropriations  for  internal  im 
provements,  with  no  better  rule  for  the  government  of 
Congress  than  that  of  which  I  have  spoken :  and  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  express  it  as  my  opinion,  that  the  general 
and  true  interests  of  the  country  would  be  best  consulted 
by  withholding  them,  with  the  exception  which  I  have  al 
ready  referred  to,  until  some  constitutional  regulation  up 
on  the  subject  has  been  made. 

"  In  this  avowal,  I  am  certainly  not  influenced  by  feel 
ings  of  indifference,  much  less  of  hostility  to  internal  im 
provements.  As  such,  they  can  have  no  enemies.  I  have 
never  omitted  to  give  th«m  all  the  proper  aid  in  my  pow 
er  ;  for  which  by  the  way,  1  claim  no  particular  merit,  as  I 
do  not  believe  there  is  an  honest  and  sane  man  in  the 
country,  who  does  not  wish  to  see  them  prosper — but 
construction,  and  the  manner  in  which,  and  the 


268          LIFE  OP  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

means  by  which  they  are  to  be  effected,  are  quite  different 
questions.  Rather  than  again  expose  our  legislation  to 
all  the  corrupting  influences  of  those  scrambles  and  com 
binations  in  Congress,  which  have  been  heretofore  wit 
nessed,  and  the  other  affairs  of  the  country,  to  the  injuri 
ous  effects  unavoidably  resulting  from  them,  it  would,  in 
my  opinion,  be  infinitely  preferable  to  leave  works  of  the 
character  spoken  of,  and  not  embraced  in  the  exception 
which  has  been  pointed  out,  for  the  present,  to  the  sup 
ports  upon  which  they  have  reposed  with  so  much  suc 
cess  for  the  last  two  years,  viz :  state  efforts  and  private 
enterprise.  If  the  great  body  of  the  people  become  con 
vinced  that  the  progress  of  these  works  should  be  accel 
erated  by  the  federal  arm,  they  will  not  refuse  to  come  to 
some  proper  constitutional  arrangement  upon  the  subject. 
The  supposition  that  an  equitable  rule,  which  pays  a 
proper  respect  to  the  interest  and  condition  of  the  differ 
ent  states,  could  fail  to  receive,  ultimately  the  constitu 
tional  sanction,  would  be  doing  injustice  to  the  intelli 
gence  of  the  country.  By  such  a  settlement  of  the  ques 
tion,  our  political  system,  in  addition  to  the  other  advan 
tages  derived  from  it,  would,  in  relation  to  this  subject  at 
least,  be  relieved  from  those  dangerous  shocks,  which 
spring  from  diversities  of  opinion  upon  constitutional 
points  of  deep  interests — and  in  the  mean  time,  the  re 
sources  of  the  country  would  be  best  husbanded  by  being 
left  in  the  hands  of  those  by  whose  labor  they  are  pro 
duced." 

These  extracts  it  will  be  noticed,  go  farther 
than  the  Veto  Message  upon  the  M aysville  Road, 
and  assume  the  ground  afterwards  adopted  by  the 
President,  that  even  for  purposes  which  might  be 
deemed  of  a  national  character,  no  appropriations 
ought  to  be  made  without  a  previous  amendment 
of  the  constitution. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


Sentiments  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  with  regard  to  protec 
tive  duties.  Votes  for  the  Tariff"  bill  in  1824,  and  in 
1828,  by  instructions  from  his  constituents.  Extract 
from  his  letter  to  the  committee  at  Shocco  Springs. 

It  has  been  stated  on  the  highest  authority,  that 
"  Mr.  Van  Buren's  personal  feelings  have  been  at 
all  times  adverse  to  the  high  tariff  policy."* 

His  constituents,  however,  were  generally  in  fa 
vor  of  protective  duties,  and  his  course  in  the  Sen 
ate  of  the  United  States  was  strictly  in  compli 
ance  with  their  sentiments.  Accordingly,  we  find 
him  yielding  a  silent  vote  in  favor  of  the  tariff  of 
1824,  and  that  of  1828.  In  the  latter  instance,  he 
was  guided  by  the  express  instructions  of  the  Le 
gislature  of  New  York. 

At  a  public  meeting,  held  in  Albany,  on  the  10th 
of  July  1827,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  co 
operating  in  the  Harrisburgh  convention,  Mr.  Van 

*  Mr.  Butler's  letter  to  Mr.  Garland,  March  1835. 
23* 


270  THE  LIFE  OF 

Buren  delivered  a  speech  'of  considerable  length 
and  great '  ingenuity.  A  large  part  of  it  was  an 
examination  of  the  tariff  bill  which  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  1827,  but  was  laid  on 
the  table  in  the  Senate. 

In  the  course  of  this  speech,  however,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  intimates  his  serious  fears,  that  the  friends 
of  protective  duties  were  urging  their  measures 
with  too  much  eagerness.  He  also  cautions  the 
manufacturers  against  uniting  their  fortunes  with 
any  political  adventurer,  and  predicted,  with  great 
accuracy,  the  overthrow  of  the  great  American 
system,  as  it  was  called.  The  speech  was  printed 
and  extensively  circulated,  and  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  formation  of  juster  views  with 
respect  to  the  protective  system. 

The  views  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  on  the  tariff,  were 
embraced  in  his  reply  to  the  Shocco  Springs'  com 
mittee,  in  1832.  The  folio  wing  passages  are  taken 
from  that  reply. 

"Although  my  official  acts  in  relation  to  the  protective 
system  might  well  be  regarded  as  rendering  the  avowal 
unnecessary,  I  think  it,  nevertheless,  proper  to  say,  that  I 
believe  the  establishment  of  commercial  regulations,  with 
a  view  to  the  encouragement  of  domestic  products,  to  be 
within  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress.  Whilst 
however,  I  entertain  this  opinion,  it  has  never  been  my 
wish  to  see  the  power  in  question  exercised  with  an  op 
pressive  inequality  upon  any  portion  of  our  citizens,  or 
for  the  advantage  of  one  section  of  the  Union  at  the  ex 
pense  of  another ;  on  the  contrary,  I  have  at  all  times  be 
lieved  it  to  be  the  sacred  duty  of  those  who  are  intrusted 
witk  the  administration  of  the  Federal  Government,  to 
direct  its  operations  in  the  manner  best  calculated  to  dis 
tribute  as  equally  as  possible,  its  burdens  and  blessings 
among  the  several  states  and  the  people.  My  views  upon 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  271 

this  subject  were,  several  years  ago,  spread  before  the 
people  of  this  state,  and  have  since  been  widely  diffused 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  press.  My  object  at 
that  time  was  to  invite  the  attention  of  my  immediate 
constituents  to  a  dispassionate  consideration  of  the  sub 
ject  in  its  various  bearings  ;  being  well  assured  that  such 
an  investigation  would  bring  them  to  a  standard,  which, 
from  its  moderation  and  justice,  would  furnish  the  best 
guarantee  for  the  true  interests  of  all.  If,  as  has  been 
supposed,  those  views  have  contributed  in  any  degree  to 
produce  a  state  of  feeling  so  much  to  be  desired,  I  have 
reason  to  be  gratified  with  the  result. 

"  The  approaching,  and  if  the  policy  of  the  present  Ex 
ecutive  is  allowed  to  prevail,  the  certain  and  speedy  ex 
tinguishment  of  the  national  debt,  has  presented  an  op 
portunity  for  the  more  equitable  adjustment  of  the  tariff, 
which  has  been  already  embraced  by  the  adoption  of  a  con 
ciliatory  measure,  the  spirit  of  which  will,  I  doubt  not, 
continue  to  be  cherished  by  all  who  are  not  desirous  of 
advancing  their  private  interests  at  the  sacrifice  of  those 
of  the  public,  and  who  place  a  just  value  upon  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  Union. 

"  The  protective  system,  and  its  proper  adjustment,  be 
came  a  subject  of  frequent  and  necessary  consideration, 
whilst  I  formed  a  part  of  the  cabinet ;  and  the  manner 
in  which  the  President  proposed  to  carry  into  effect  the 
policy  in  relation  to  imports,  recommended  in  his  previous 
messages,  has  since  been  avowed,  with  that  frankness 
which  belongs  to  his  character.  To  this  end  he  recom 
mended  '  a  modification  of  the  tariff,  which  should  pro 
duce  a  reduction  of  the  revenue  to  the  wants  of  the  gov 
ernment,  and  an  adjustment  of  the  duty  upon  imports, 
with  a  view  to  equal  justice  in  relation  to  all  our  national 
interest,  and  to  the  counteraction  of  foreign  policy,  so  far 
as  it  may  be  injurious  to  those  interests.' 

"  In  these  sentiments  I  fully  concur  ;  and  I  have  been 
thus  explicit  in  the  statement  of  them,  that  there  may  be 
no  room  for  misapprehension  as  to  my  own  views  upon 
the  subject.  A  sincere  and  faithful  application  of  these 
principles  to  our  legislation,  unwarped  by  private  interests 
or  political  design,  a  restriction  of  the  wants  of  the  gov 
ernment  to  a  simple  and  economical  administration  of  its 
affairs — the  only  administration  which  is  consistent  with 
the  purity  and  stability  of  the  republican  system  ;  a  pref 
erence  in  encouragement,  given  to  such  manufactures  as 
are  essential  to  the  national  defence,  and  its  extension  to 


272  THE  LIFE  OF 

others  in  proportion  as  they  are  adapted  to  our  country, 
and  of  which  the  raw  material  is  produced  by  ourselves, 
with  a  proper  respect  for  the  rule  which  demands  that  all 
taxes  should  be  imposed  in  proportion  to  the  ability  and 
condition  of  the  contributors,  would,  I  am  convinced,  give 
ultimate  satisfaction  to  a  vast  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  and  tend  to  arrest  that  spirit  of  dis 
content,  which  is  now  unhappily  prevalent,  and  which 
threatens  such  extensive  injury  to  the  institutions  of 
our  country. 

It  will  only  be  necessary  to  subjoin  the  fol 
lowing  extracts  from  the  letter  of  Mr.  Benton  to 
General  Davis,  to  complete  the  view  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  sentiments  as  regards  the  tariff'. 

"  He,  (Mr.  Van  Buren,)  was  the  first  eminent  member 
of  Congress,  north  of  the  Potomac,  to  open  the  war,  at 
the  right  point,  upon  the  tariff  of  1828,  then  undergoing  the 
process  of  incubation  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  con 
vention  to  sit  at  Harrisburg.  His  speech  at  Albany,  in 
July  1827,  openly  characterized  that  measure  as  a  politi 
cal  manoeuvre  to  influence  the  impending  presidential 
election  ;  and  the  graphic  expression, '  a  measure  procee 
ding  more  from  the  CLOSET  of  the  POLITICIAN  than  from 
the  WORKSHOP  of  the  MANUFACTURER,'  so  opportunely  and 
felicitously  used  in  that  speech,  soon  became  the  opinion  of 
the  public,  and  subsequently  received  the  impress  of  veri 
fication  from  the  abandonment,  and  the  manner  of  aban 
doning,  of  the  whole  fabric  of  the  "high  tariff  policy. — 
Failing  to  carry  any  body  into  the  Presidential  chair,  its 
doom  pronounced  by  the  election  of  Jackson  and  Van 
Buren,  it  was  abandoned,  as  it  had  been  created,  upon 
political  calculation  ;  and  expired  under  a.  fiat  emanating, 
not  from  the  workshop  of  the  manufacturer,  but  from  the 
closet  of  the  politician.  ~True,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  voted 
for  the  tariff  of  1828,  notwithstanding  his  speech  of  1827; 
but,  equally  true,  that  he  voted  under  instructions  from  his 
state  Legislature,  and  in  obedience  to  the  great  democrat 
ic  principle  (demos,  the  people,  krateo,  to  govern)  which 
has  always  formed  a  distinguishing  feature,  and  a  divi 
ding  land-mark,  between  the  two  great  political  par 
ties  which,  under  whatsoever  name,  have  always  ex 
isted,  and  still  exist,  in  our  country.  Sitting  in  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BURN.  373 

chair  next  to  him  at  the  time  of  that  vote,  voting  as 
he  did,  and  upon  the  same  principle ;  interchanging  opin 
ions  without  reserve,  or  disguise,  it  comes  within  the  per 
ception  of  my  own  senses  to  know,  that  he  felt  great  re 
pugnance  to  the  provisions  of  the  tariff' act  of  '28,  and  vo 
ted  for  it,  as  I  did,  in  obedience  to  a  principle  which  we 
both  hold  sacred." 


CHAPTER    XVIII 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  support  of  a  strict  construction  of  the 
constitution,  with  extracts  from  his  speech  on  the  poic- 
er  of  the  Vice  President  to  call  to  order,  for  words 
spoken  in  debate^  in  the  Senate. 

No  one  subject  has  more  widely  separated  the 
antagonist  political  parties  in  the  United  States, 
than  the  different  principles  of  construction,  applied 
by  each,  to  the  Federal  Constitution.  Tt  has  been 
the  constant  effort  of  the  democratic  party,  to  con 
fine  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government  to  the 
exact  and  express  limits,  fixed  by  the  letter  of  the 
constitution.  The  party  opposed  to  them,  have 
been  equally  persevering  in  their  efforts  to  extend 
the  Federal  jurisdiction,  by  resulting,  constructive, 
and  implied  powers,  not  warranted  by  the  text  of 
the  constitution,  or  contemplated  by  its  framers, 
but  flowing,  as  it  is  claimed,  from  certain  general 
clauses,  of  which  the  purport  is  not  specific  and  def 
inite.  The  most  striking  examples  of  the  exercise 


276  THE  LIFF  OF 

of  incidental  or  implied  powers,  are  the  incorpora 
tion  of  a  bank  of  the  United  States,  and  the  ex 
penditure  of  the  public  funds  for  internal  improve 
ments.  No  express  authority  is  given,  in  the  con 
stitution,  for  either  of  these  measures.  But  Con 
gress  are  authorized  to  receive  and  disburse  the 
public  revenue,  and  are  authorized  to  make  the 
laws  "  necessary  and  proper"  for  this  end  ;  and  it 
has  been  held  that  a  bank  is  necessary  and  proper, 
and  hence,  that  the  power  to  create  one,  may  be 
derived  from  a  liberal  construction  of  the  specified 
powers.  The  constitution  does  not  expressly  au 
thorize  the  expenditure  of  the  public  money  for  in 
ternal  improvements ;  but  it  is  said  to  be  implied  in 
the  power  to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads, 
or  in  the  power  to  regulate  commerce,  or  in  the 
clause  which  speaks  of  providing  for  the  general 
welfare.  Upon  such  slight  grounds,  has  been  erec 
ted,  a  magnificent  system,  embracing  the  most  im 
portant  interests  of  the  country,  and  involving  the 
exercise  of  more  important  functions,  by  the  Gen 
eral  Government,  than  any  which  have  been  ex 
pressly  granted  in  the  constitution. 

In  the  first  place,  the  power  which  is  given  to 
the  General  Government  of  imposing  duties  on  im 
ported  articles,  has  been  carried  to  such  an  extent, 
under  the  pretence  of  fostering  domestic  industry, 
as  to  fill  the  treasury  with  surplus  funds,  beyond 
the  current  expenses  of  the  government.  In  the 
second  place,  as  part  of  the  same  system,  these 
funds  have  been  intended  to  carry  on  magnificent 
roads  and  canals,  in  certain  parts  of  the  Union,  the 
control  of  which  was  to  be  in  the  Federal  govern- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  377 

ment,  and  would  have  involved  an  immense  exec 
utive  patronage.  Connected  with  these  schemes, 
was  a  vast  national  bank,  professedly  established 
for  national  purposes,  but  principally  owned  by  in 
dividuals,  with  branches  in  every  part  of  the  Un 
ion  beyond  the  control  of  the  state  governments, 
and  capable  of  exercising  an  unlimited  influence 
over  the  pecuniary  interests  of  the  whole  commu 
nity. 

Thus  was  built  up,  what  was  called  the  "  Great 
American  System  ;"  a  system  devised  to  promote 
the  ambitious  views  of  individuals,  based  wholly, 
as  we  have  seen,  upon  distorted  constructions  of 
the  constitution,  and  sustained,  for  a  time,  by  ap 
peals  to  local  or  partial  interests.  This  vast 
scheme  was  fitted  to  expand  the  powers  of  the. 
Federal  government  enormously  beyond  its  con 
stitutional  limits  ;  so  that  it  must,  eventually,  have 
swallowed  up,  as  in  a  vortex,  all  the  interests  of 
the  confederated  states.  The  legislative  depart 
ment  of  the  government,  alloyed  by  local  inter 
ests,  or  party  prejudice,  or  individual  schemes  of 
aggrandizement,  was  temporarily  led  into  its  sup 
port  ;  the  judiciary  department  co-operated,  with 
the  full  weight  of  its  character  and  influence,  to 
fasten  this  gigantic  "  system"  upon  the  nation. 
The  Executive  had  the  shelter  of  long  precedent 
and  the  force  of  previous  example,  to  draw  it  into 
acquiescence  ;*  but  it  yielded  not.  The  com- 

*The  writer  alludes,  (with  pain,)  to  the  assent  of  General 
Washington  and  Mr.  Madison,  severally,  to  the  charter  of  the 
United  States  Bank ;  and  Mr.  Jefferson's  acquiescence  in  the 
project  of  the  Cumberland  road, 
24 


278  THE  LIFE  OF 

manding   intellect  of  General  Jackson  saw    the 
alarming  danger  ;  his  more  than  Roman  firmness 
encountered  it ;  the  constitution  was  rescued  and 
the  country  saved.     The  magnificent  schemes  of 
national  roads  and  canals,  already  contemplating 
expenditures  to  the  amount  of  nearly  one  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,  vanished  at  his  touch  ;  the   ex 
travagant    system   of  impost    duties,    which  had 
brought  the  country  to  the  eve  of  a  civil  war,  was 
reduced,  by  his  energy,  to  its  proper  medium  ; 
and  finally,  the  national  Bank,  the  most  formidable 
engine  ever  invented  to  corrupt  the  principles  and 
undermine  the  liberties  of  a  republic,  sunk  beneath 
the  repeated  applications  of  his  eloquent  denuncia 
tions  and  official  power.      The  great  battle  has 
been  fought  between  the  friends  of  the  constitution 
and  the  partizans  of  aristocratic  corruption.     The 
country  now  reposes  in  safety.     While  our  pre 
sent  venerable  chief  magistrate  sits  at  the  helm  of 
state,  neither  secret  corruption  nor  the  formidable 
threats  of  coalescing  factions,  can  endanger  popu 
lar  rights  or  invade  the   constitution.      But  into 
whose  hands, -after  his  withdrawal,  are  these  sacred 
interests  to  be   committed  ?  What  are  the   senti 
ments  of  him  who  may  possibly  succeed  to  this  re 
sponsible  trust?  Will  he  abide  by  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  constitution,  or  will  he  be  led  astray, 
by  the  fraudulent  inventions  of  modern  times,  and 
leave  the  charter  of  our  freedom  to  the  perversions 
of  selfish  partizans  ?  An  answer  to  these  questions, 
so  far  as  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  concerned,  may  be 
found  in  the  following  extracts.     They  are  from  a. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  279 

speech  which  he  delivered  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  winter  of  1828,  on  a  motion 
to  invest  the  Vice  President  with  power  to  call  to 
order  for  words  spoken  in  debate  ;  a  power  which 
the  advocates  of  a  loose  construction  pretended  to 
derive  by  implication  from  the  nature  of  the  office. 

In  the  outset  of  his  remarks,  Mr.  Van  Buren  ex 
pressed  his  indifference  as  to  the  fate  of  the  par 
ticular  proposition  before  the  Senate ;  it  was  the 
source  from  whence  the  power  of  calling  to  order 
had  been  claimed  for  the  Vice  President,  which 
had  excited  his  anxiety.  In  claiming  that  power 
by  implication  he  said,  "  principles  had  been  ad 
vanced  and  earnestly  supported,  against  which  he 
felt  it  to  be  his  duty,  at  least  to  protest.  Nay 
more  ;  such  was  his  repugnance  to  the  doctrines 
he  had  heard,  so  deep  was  his  conviction  of  the 
error  in  which  they  were  founded,  that  he  could 
not,  without  being  disloyal  to  the  most  sacred  of 
his  official  duties,  refrain  from  resisting  them." 

He  then  went  into  a  careful  examination  of  the 
true  nature  and  limits  of  the  power  of  the  Vice 
President,  and  proceeded  to  remark  on  the  gene 
ral  doctrine  of  implied  and  constructive  powers, 
as  follows  : 

"  In  every  point  of  view,  said  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  which 
this  subject  had  presented  itself  to  his  mind,  it  had  pro 
duced  but  one  sentiment,  and  that  was  unqualified  opposi 
tion  to  the  prerogative  claimed  for  the  chair.  Although 
this  claim  of  power  is  now,  for  the  first  time  made,  the 
principle  in  which  it  originates  is  as  old  as  the  govern 
ment  itself.  I  look  upon  it,  sir,  as  the  legitimate  offspring 
of  a  school  of  politics,  which  has,  in  times  past,  Rgitated 


THE  LIFE  OF 

and  greatly  disturbed  this  country  ;  of  a  school,  the  lead 
ing  principle  of  which  may  be  traced  to  that  great  source 
of  the  political  contentions  which  have  pervaded  every 
country  where  the  rights  of  man  were  in  any  degree  re- 
specled.  I  allude,  sir,  to  that  collision  which  seems  to  be 
inseparable  from  the  nature  of  man,  between  the  rights  of 
ihefew  and  the  many,  to  those  never-ceasing  conflicts 
between  the  advocates  of  the  enlargement  and  concentra 
tion  of  power  on  the  one  hand,  and  '^limitation  andd/.s'- 
tribution  on  the  other  ;  conflicts  which,  in  England,  crea 
ted  the  distinction  between  Whigs  and  Tories;  the  latter 
•striving  by  all  the  means  within  their  reach  to  increase 
ihe  influence  and  dominion  of  the  throne,  at  the  expense 
of  the  common  people  ;  and  the  former  to  counteract  the 
'exertions  of  their  adversaries,  by  abridging  that  dominion 
and  influence  for  the  advancement  of  the  rights  and  the 
consequent  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  people. 

"  Collisions  of  opinion  and  of  action  of  a  character  simi* 
lar  in  principle  have  existed,  although  under  different  de 
nominations,  with  different  limits,  and  for  different  end?* 
in  most  countries,  and  in  an  eminent  degree  in  this.  In 
deed  the  history  of  the  struggles,  the  contests,  the  alter 
nating  victories  and  defeats  of  these  two  restless  and  rival 
principles,  is  the  history  of  all  republican  governmen-ts, — 
in  fact,  of  all  institutions  formed  for  the  protection  of  the 
liberty  of  conscience  and  opinion,  and  the  freedom  of  the 
citizen.  No  where  can  its  operation  be  more  distinctly 
traced  than  in  our  own  early  history.  They  were  the 
primitive  elements,  and  animating  causes  of  those  whig 
and  tory  parties,  which,  from  the  first  Congress  of  1765, 
down  to  the  glorious  peace  of  1783,  on  the  one  hand  la 
bored  unceasingly  to  consolidate  all  legislative  authority 
over  these  provinces  in  the  single  British  parliament,  and 
to  place  all  patronage,  power,  and  influence,  in  the  hands 
of  the  executive  and  judicial  representatives  of  the  Crown; 
nnd  on  the  other  hand,  as  boldly  and  perseveringly,  but 
happily  more  successfully,  vindicated  by  reason,  elo 
quence,  and  finally  by  arms,  the  rights  of  the  several 
American  states,  and  the  just  powers  of  the  immediate 
representatives  of  the  people.  The  establishment  of  our 
independence  put  an  end  to  these  conflicts,  in  the  form 
in  which  they  had  before  been  sustained  ;  but  what  its 
effect  was  upon  the  spirit  that  produced  them,  could  be 
better  judged  from  an  attentive  consideration  of  our  sub 
sequent  history.  Attempts,  said  Mr.  Van  Buren,  have 
frequently  been  made  in  later  days,  and  recently  by  the 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN. 

highest  authority  in  the  government,  to  trace  the  origin 
of  the  two  great  political  parties  which  have  divided  the 
country,  from  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  to  the  pres 
ent  day.     They  have,  for  motives  too  obvious  to  require 
explanation,  been  attributed   to  causes  which  had   either 
hecome  obsolete,  or  been  compromised  by  mutual  conces 
sion — such  as  the  early  difficulties  growing  out  of  our  re 
lations  with  Great  Britain  and  France,  the  expediency  of 
a  navy,  or  similar  questions.     There  was  one  considera 
tion,  he  said,  that  could  not  fail  to  arrest  the  attention  of 
the  most  superficial  observer.     It  was  this.     If  these  party 
divisions  have  sprung  from  no  other  cause  than  the  tem 
porary  circumstances  to  which  they  have  been  attributed, 
why  have  they  so  long  survived  the  causes  that  produced 
them?  That  they  still  exist,  and  exist  in  full  vigor  in  a 
great  portion  of  the  Union,  it  would  be  an  insult  to   our 
observation  and  understanding  to  deny.     The  explanation 
of  the  mystery  was  to  be  found,  and  to  be  found  only,  in 
the  falsity  of  the  ascription.     They  arose  from  other  and 
very  different  causes.     They  are,  in  truth,  said  he,  mainly 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  struggle  between  the  two  opposing 
principles  that  have  been  in  active  operation  in  this  coun 
try  from  the  closing  scenes  of  the  revolutionary  war  to  the 
present  day — the  one  seeking  to  absorb,  as  far  as  practica 
ble,  all  power  from  its  legitimate  sources,  and  to  condense 
it  in  a  single  head ;  the  other,  an  antagonist  principle,  la 
boring  as  assiduously  to  resist  the  encroachments,   and 
limit  the  extent  of  our  executive  authority.     The  former 
has  grown  out  of  a  deep  and  settled  distrust  of  the  peo 
ple  and  of  the  states.     It  consequently  regards  as  gain, 
every  thing  that  can   be  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  federal 
power,  and  as  making  that  power  still   more  safe  in  pro 
portion  as  it  is  withdrawn  from  the  popular  departments 
of  the  federal  government  to  those  that  are   further  remo 
ved  from  the  control  of  public  sentiment.      The  antago 
nist  principle  has  its  origin  in  a  jealousy  of  power,  justi 
fied  by  all  human  experience.     It  is  founded  on   the  as 
sumption,  that  the  disposition  of  man  to  abuse  delegated 
authority  is   inherent  and  incorrigible  ;  it  therefore  seeks 
its  only  security  in  the  limitation  and  distribution  of  those 
trusts  which  the  very  existence  of  government  requires  to 
be  reposed  somewhere.     Hence,  the  aversion  of  its  sup 
porters  to  grant  more  power  than  is  indispensably  neces 
sary  for  the  objects  of  society  ;  and  their  desire,  as  an  addi 
tional  safeguard,  to  place  that  which  is  conferred  in  as 
many  hands  as  is  consistent  with  efficiency.     The  former 
24* 


282  THE  LIFE  OF 

is  essentially  the  monarchical,  and  the  latter  the  demo- 
cratical  spirit,  of  society.  He  wished  not  to  be  misun 
derstood.  He  used  these  terms,  as  more  expressive  of  his 
meaning,  than  any  that  occurred  to  him.  He  had  no  idea 
that  all,  or  even  the  great  body  of  those  who  either  now, 
or  in  times  past,  had  been  subject  to  the  influence  of  the 
first  principle,  were  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  a 
monarchy  in  this  country,  any  more  than  he  believed  that 
those  who  had  shown  their  preference  for  democratical 
principles  were  in  favorof  the  establishment  of  an  absolute 
democracy — neither  side  had  views  thus  extensive.  The 
forms  of  both  were  repudiated,  while  their  respective  spir 
its  were,  to  no  considerable  extent,  retained.  The  earlier 
battles  upon  this  cardinal  point  were  fought  upon  the  ques 
tion  of  the  degree  of  energy  ;  or  in  other  words;  power 
that  ought  to  be  given  to  the  Federal  Government,  at  the 
expense  of  the  states  and  the  people.  They  commenced 
in  the  convention  of  1787,  and  soon  spread  through  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  upon  the  question  of  ratification. 
The  proceedings  of  that  convention  were  for  a  long  time 
secret,  but  are  now  before  the  public.  In  them,  when  ta 
ken  in  connection  with  later  events,  we  read  the  grounds 
of  our  subsequent  political  dissensions,  in  language  so 
plain,  that  none  but  those  who  are  wilfully  blind  can  be 
deceived.  There  were,  of  course,  different  degrees,  as  to 
individuals;  but  the  leading  division  in  the  convention 
was  between  those  who,  distrustful  of  the  states,  sought 
to  abridge  their  powers,  that  those  of  the  new  government 
might,  thereby,  be  enlarged,  and  those  who,  on  their  part 
distrustful,  perhaps  jealous  of  the  government  about  to  be 
created,  and  possessing  full  confidence  in  those  of  the 
states,  were  as  strenuous  to  retain  all  powers  not  indis 
pensably  necessary  to  enable  the  Federal  Government  to 
discharge  the  specified  and  limited  duties  to  be  imposed 
upon  it.  The  contest  was  animated,  and,  as  it  is  well 
known,  more  than  once  threatened  a  dissolution  of  the 
convention,  without  agreeing  upon  any  thing.  Necessity, 
however,  ultimately  compelled  a  compromise.  The  terms 
were  arranged  as  well  as  practicable.  The  then  friends 
of  state  rights,  (the  true  federalists,  but,  who,  by  a  singu 
lar  misnomer,  were  immediately  after  called  an ti-federal- 
ists,  whilst  those  who  had  throughout  opposed  the  feder 
al  principle,  assumed  the  then  more  popular  name  of  fed 
eralists,)  succeeded,  or  thought  they  succeeded,  in  saving 
much  of  what  they  had  so  earnestly  contended  for.  The 
advocates  of  what  was  in  the  language  of  the  day  called 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  283 

a  strong  General  Government,  certainly  failed  in  obtain 
ing  by  express  grant,  or  necessary  implication,  much  of 
what  they  had  so  long  and  so  ably  struggled  to  acquire 
for  the  new  government.  The  question  of  ratification 
came  on,  and  was  full  of  difficulty.  The  abuses  to  which 
some  of  the  more  general  provisions  of  the  constitution 
might  be  exposed,  were  pointed  out  by  its  opponents. 
The  concealed  powers  of  the  constitution,  which  are  at 
this 'day  put  forth  with  so  much  confidence,  were  dis 
claimed  and  condemned  by  those  who  advocated  the  rati 
fication.  No  candid  and  well-informed  man,  will  for  a 
moment  pretend  that,  if  the  powers  now  claimed  for  this 
government  had  been  avowed  at  the  time,  or  even  had  not 
been  expressly  disclaimed,  there  would  have  been  the 
slightest  chance  for  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  by 
the  requisite  number  of  the  old  thirteen  states. 

But  it  was  ratified,  said  Mr.  V.  B.,  and  from  the  mo 
ment  of  its  adoption  to  the  present  day,  the  spirit  he  had 
described,  had  been  at  work  to  obtain  by  construction 
what  was  not  included  or  intended  to  be  included  in  the 
grant.  It  was  far  from  his  intention  to  urge  this  as  a  re 
proach  against  the  actors  in  those  scenes.  He  was  per 
suaded  that  the  motives  of  many,  if  not  of  all,  were  pure, 
and  even  patriotic.  They  believed  that  the  state  Gov 
ernments  were  not  safe  depositories  of  power;  that  the 
states  would  be  able  to  control,  and  would  injuriously 
control  the  Federal  Government,  unless  it  had  more  pow 
er  than  the  convention  of  1787  was  willing  to  grant. 
They  thought,  and  one  of  them  Avith  that  ingenuousness 
of  feeling  which  distinguished  his  noble  nature,  avowed 
officially,  that  the  true  question  was,  not  what  the  framers 
of  the  constitution  intended,  or  what  those  by  whom  it 
was  ratified  understood,  but  what  was  the  correct  con 
struction  of  the  terms  in  which  it  was  expressed.  This 
great  man  knew  well  that  the  power  then  claimed  for  the 
government,  could  be  sustained  on  no  other  grounds,  and 
he  was  always  above  disguise. 

I  am  not,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  condemning  their  motives, 
but  controverting  their  opinions.  The  test  that  was  then 
applied  to  the  constitution,  has  been  adjudged  erroneous 
and  unjust,  by  the  judges  in  the  last  resort — the  people 
themselves.  The  belief,  (no  doubt  honestly  entertained 
by  many,)  that  its  application  was  necessary  to  the  suc 
cess  of  the  scheme  and  to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  was 
founded  in  impressions  as  to  the  character  of  the  state 
governments,  which  experience  has  demonstrated  to  havp 


284  THE  LIFE  OF 

been  unfounded.  Many  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
those  who  then  entertained  those  opinions,  have  since 
abandoned  them,  convinced  by  the  results  of  that  experi 
ment  which  has  since  been  made.  Fifty  years  experi 
ence  of  the  operation  of  the  state  governments,  has  made 
'  assurance  doubly  sure,'  that  they  richly  deserve  the  con 
fidence  which  the  people  have  ever  been  inclined  to  be 
stow  on  them.  Under  the  broad  shield  of  state  laws, 
private  rights  have  been  protected,  while  public  prosperity 
was  promoted.  In  the  darkest  hours  of  Avar,  when  the 
General  Government  was  disheartened  and  enfeebled  by 
debt  and  disaster,  its  unnerved  arm  was  strengthened, 
and  the  national  honor  rescued,  by  the  authority,  the  pat 
riotism,  and  the  credit  of  the  states.  In  peace  they  have 
not  only  fulfilled  wisely  and  justly  all  the  great  purposes 
of  self-government,  but  several  of  them  have  established 
noble  systems  of  public  instruction,  or  have  accomplished, 
or  are  now  accomplishing,  great  works  of  internal  im 
provement,  as  far  surpassing  in  magnitude  and  utility 
any  similar  works  of  the  General  Government,  as  they 
do  in  wisdom  of  plan,  and  economy,  and  judgment  in 
execution.  A  general  surrender  of  such  opinions,  is, 
therefore,  at  this  time,  a  tribute  justly  due  to  the  re 
deemed  and  established  character  of  the  state  govern 
ments.  But  they  are  not  surrendered — on  the  contrary, 
they  have  become  more  and  more  extravagant,  until  those 
under  whose  protection  they  now  are,  claim  for  this  gov 
ernment  powers  which  were  in  express  terms  repudiated 
and  denounced  by  the  founders  of  this  very  school. 

Mr.  V.  B.  said,  he  would  not  feel  himself  at  liberty  to 
detain  the  Senate  by  following  the  track  of  the  govern 
ment  in  its  whole  extent,  and  through  all  its  sinuosities, 
to  establish  his  positions,  but  he  could  not  avoid  doing  so 
in  part.  The  subject  was  one  of  deep  interest,  of  which 
it  behooved  the  American  people  to  be  fully  informed, 
but  which  it  was  to  be  feared  is  more  frequently  spoken 
of  than  understood.  The  mass  of  our  citizens  are  so 
much  engrossed  in  the  affairs  of  their  state  governments, 
that  this  great  matter  is  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  neg 
lected. 

"During  the  administration  of  General  Washington, 
no  acts  of  a  strong  character  took  place,  save  the  incor 
poration  of  the  bank  of  the  United  States,  that  great 
pioneer  of  constitutional  encroachments,  together  with 
the  principles  avowed  in  relation  to  the  treaty-making 
power.  The  attachment  of  General  Washington  to  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

constitution,  his  consciousness  of  the  difficulty  which  had 
attended  its  establishment,  and  the  natural  moderation 
of  his  character,  coming  in  aid  of  the  firm  countenance 
maintained  by  the  anti-federalists  of  that  day,  kept  the 
spirit  of  encroachment  and  construction  within  bounds, 
that,  compared  with  its  present  character,  were  reasona 
ble.  But  in  the  administration  succeeding  that  of  Gen 
eral  Washington,  continuing  through  the  years  of  1797, 
'98,  '99,  it  displayed  itself  in  its  true  and  most  odious 
character.  Its  fruits  were  so  bitter,  and  are  so  well  re- 
merrrbered,  that  any  thing  like  a  minute  description  of 
them  would  be  an  act  of  supererogation.  It  was  then 
that  the  monarchical  and  aristocratical  character  of  the 
spirit  he  had  described,  was  displayed  in  unceasing  efforts 
to  wrest  from  the  states  the  powers  that  justly  belonged 
to  them,  to  exercise  such  as  had  never  been  conferred, 
and  to  concentrate,  as  far  as  practicable,  all  authority  in 
the  hands  of  the  President. 

"  Among  the  usurpations  of  the  day,  the  alien  and  se 
dition  laws  stand  in  bold  relief,  not  only  as  furnishing  land 
marks  of  the  extent  to  which  the  presumption  and  arro 
gance  of  power  dared  to  go,  but  also  on  account  of  their 
agency  in  driving  from  public  confidence  those  by  whom 
they  were  adopted.  The  inclination  to  draw  the  powers 
of  the  government  to  one  common  focus,  has  been  other 
wise  exemplified  in  various  ways,  and  at  different  periods 
of  our  history.  Time  would  only  allow  a  brief  notice  of 
one  or  two  of  them. 

"  The  doctrine  announced  in  the  discussions  on  the 
British  treaty,  that  the  House  of  Representatives  were 
bound  to  make  all  appropriations  necessary  to  carry  into 
effect  the  stipulations  of  a  treaty  made  by  the  President 
and  Senate,  was  a  striking  exemplification  of  this  truth. 
The  extent  to  which  this  doctrine  increases  the  executive 
po\ver,  (in  its  most  enlarged  sense,)  over  the  funds  of  the* 
nation,  cannot  fail  to  strike  the  mind  at  the  first  blush. 
He  did  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying,  or  insinua 
ting,  that  all  who  advocated  that  opinion,  were  influenced 
by  the  spirit  of  which  he  had  spoken.  He  did  not  believe- 
that  such  was  the  case.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  welf 
satisfied  that  there  were  those,  on  that  occasion,  as  wel* 
as  on  that  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  (and  especially  him  who  was  at  the  head  of  af 
fairs,)  who  were  sincere  friends  to  the  state  governments, 
but  were  led  away  by  the  pressure  of  the  times,  and  gave 
their  assent  to  measures  which,  under  more  auspicious-; 


THE  LIFE  OF 

circumstances,  they  could  not  have  approved.  The  prin 
ciple  then  avowed  was  resisted  by  the  republicans  of  that 
day,  on  the  simple  but  intelligible  grounds,  that,  so  lar 
as  the  treaty  stipulation  could  be  carried  into  eJfect  with 
out  the  aid  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  its  interfer 
ence  would  be  unauthorized,  because,  by  the  constitution, 
the  treaty-making  power  had  been  conferred  on  a  differ 
ent  department  of  the  government;  but  that,  whenever 
the  action  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  more  im 
mediate  agents  of  the  people,  was  necessary,  it  must  be 
free  to  give  or  withhold  its  assent,  according  to  its  best 
judgment,  and  upon  its  own  responsibility  ;  that  the  con 
stitution  neither  declared  nor  intended,  that,  in  cases 
which  might  be  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  it  should  be  a 
mere  machine  to  be  worked  by  the  other  departments  of 
the  government.  The  same  disposition  to  limit  the  pow 
ers  of  the  popular  branch,  was  forcibly  illustrated  in  the 
discussions  on  the  ' foreign  intercourse  biW  in  1793. 
It  was  upon  that  occasion  contended,  and  successfully 
too,  that  the  House  of  Representatives,  had  no  discretion 
upon  the  question  of  appropriation  for  the  expenses  of 
such  intercourse  with  foreign  nations  as  the  President 
saw  fit  to  establish— that  they  would  be  justly  obnoxious 
to  the  imputation  of  gross  delinquency,  if  they  hesitated 
to  make  provision  for  the  salaries  of  such  foreign  minis 
ters  as  the  President,  with  the  assent  of  the  Senate, 
should  appoint.  What  would  be  the  feelings  of  real  and 
unchanged  republicans,  in  relation  to  such  doctrines,  at 
this  day?  Associated  with  them  was  the  bold  avowal, 
that  it  belonged  to  the  President  alone  to  decide  upon  the 
propriety  of  the  mission,  and  that  all  the  constitutional 
agency  which  the  Senate  could  of  right  have,  was  to 
pass  on  the  fitness  of  the  individuals  selected  as  minis 
ters.  It  was  pretensions  like  these,  said  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
aided  by  unceasing  indications,  both  in  the  internal  and 
external  movements  of  the  Government,  that  produced  a 
deep  and  settled  conviction  in  the  public  mind,  that  a  de 
sign  had  been  conceived  to  change  the  government  from 
its  simple  and  republican  form,  to  one,  if  not  monarchi 
cal,  at  least  too  energetic  for  the  temper  of  the  American 
people — a  conviction  which  beyond  all  doubt,  produced 
the  civil  revolution  of  1800,  and  for  which  no  'oblivious 
antidote'  has  been  yet  discovered  by  those  who  were  its 
victims.  By  that  great  event,  the  public  sentiment  was 
improved,  our  public  councils  purified,  the  spirit  of  en 
croachment  severely  rebuked,  and,  it  was  then  hoped,  ex- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  287 

tinguished  forever.  During  Mr.  Jefferson's  administra 
tion,  and  with  a  single  exception,  that  of  Mr.  Madison, 
the  government  was  administered  upon  the  principles 
which  the  framers  of  the  constitution  avowed,  and  which 
their  constituents  had  ratified,  and  the  people  once  and 
again  confirmed.  The  charier  of  the  bank  of  the  United 
States,  was,  after  a  hard  struggle,  suffered  to  expire;  and 
the  conceded  and  well-understood  powers  of  the  govern 
ment  were  found  amply  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  perform 
the  great  functions  lor  which  it  was  instituted.  During 
a  great  portion  of  the  time  the  country  was  blessed  with 
a  degree  of  prosperity  and  happiness  without  a  parallel  in 
the  world.  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Madison's  administra 
tion,  a  new  bank  was  incorporated,  and  received  his  re 
luctant  assent.  It  would  be  shutting  our  eyes  to  the  truth 
to  deny,  or  to  attempt  to  conceal  the  fact,  that  that  assent, 
coming  from  the  quarter  that  it  did,  has  had  a  most  pow 
erful  and  far  from  salutary  influence  on  the  subsequent 
course  of  the  government.  Its  author  had  himself,  on  a 
former  occasion,  demonstrated  the  want  of  power  in  the 
Federal  Government  to  incorporate  a  bank,  and  his  assent 
was  now  placed  on  the  express  ground  that  the  recogni 
tion  of  the  authority  of  the  government  in  relation  to  the 
old  bank,  by  the  state  governments  and  the  courts,  as  well 
as  the  people,  had  precluded  the  question  of  constitu 
tionality.  Thus  the  power  in  question  must  stand  as  a 
successful  interpolation  upon  the  text  of  the  constitution. 
This  great  precursor  was  again  followed  by  other  at 
tempts,  but  of  a  restricted  and  qualified  character,  to  ex 
tend  the  same  principle  to  other  topics  of  legislation. 
They  were,  however,  promptly  defeated  by  Mr.  Madison, 
who,  upon  all  points,  save  the  "bank  of  the'United  States, 
preserved  inviolate  the, great  principles  upon  which  the 
revolution  of  1800  was  founded,  and  of  which  his  own 
report  upon  the  alien  and  sedition  lawrs  was  the  exposi 
tion.  For  his  departure,  in  that  particular,  (if  a  depar 
ture  it  was.)  his  reasons  have  been  seen.  It  is  not,  at  this 
time,  my  official  duty  to  pass  upon  their  sufficiency  ;  and 
I  am  wholly  unwilling  to  volunteer  a  denunciation  of 
any  opinion,  deliberately  formed,  and  upon  high  responsi 
bility,  by  one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  accomplished 
statesmen  that  our  country  has  produced.  However  indi 
viduals  might  differ  as  to  the  correctness  of  his  conclu 
sion,  all  mankind  must  acquiesce  in  the  purity  of  the  mo 
tives  which  led  to  its  adoption.  The  political  condition 
of  the  country,  at  the  close  of  the  late  war,  in  reference 


288  THE  LIFE  OF 

to  old  party  distinctions,  speculation  as  to  the  future  and 
the  aspirations  of  individual  ambition,  accompanied,  in 
many  cases,  by  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  the  public 
good,  produced  occasional  attempts  during  the  adminis 
tration  that  followed,  to  revive  in  a  form  less  exceptiona 
ble,  the  doctrine  which  had  already  been  so  emphatically 
condemned  by  the  people.  They  were,  however,  in  a 
great  degree,  restrained,  and  kept  down  by  the  resistance 
of  the  remnant  of  the  faithful,  and  the  qualified  opposi 
tion  of  Mr.  Monroe. 

"But  if  these  attempts,  said  Mr.  V.  B.  to  revive  the 
condemned  heresies  of  former  times,  were  not  of  them 
selves  successful,  they  served  the  purpose  of  giving  coun 
tenance  to  pretensions  on  the  part  of  men  now  in  power, 
which  out-Herod  Herod.  The  opening  scenes  of  the 
present  administration,  have  not  only  been  the  subjects, 
of  intense  interest  in  their  day,  but  will  mark  an  interest 
ing  era  in  our  future  history.  They  will  stand  as  a  bea 
con  to  succeeding  administrations.,  warning  them  of  the 
point  beyond  which  the  people  will  never  tolerate  en 
croachment  upon  the  great  charter  of  their  liberties.  The 
present  Executive,  in  his  exposition  of  the  constitutional 
powers  of  this  government  has  gone  far  beyond  the  utmost 
latitude  of  construction  heretofore  claimed,  as  if  to  give 
point  to  his  extravagant  pretensions —  to  demonstrate  that 
the  result  of  the  last  election  was  not  only  the  restoration 
of  the  men  of  1798,  but  of  the  principles  of  that  day,  we 
have  seen  a  great  portion  of  the  obnoxious  doctrine  then 
contended  for  again  broadly  advanced  in  the  assumption, 
that  it  was  within  the 'constitutional  competency'  of  the 
Executive  to  have  sent  ministers  to  the  Congress  of  Pana 
ma,  without  the  assent  of  the  Senate;  and,  sir,  to  give  a 
high  finish  to  the  picture,  it  is  now  strenuously  contended 
from  a  quarter  in  amity  with  the  Executive,  that  the  con 
trol  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Senators,  on  this 
floor,  and  their  constituents,  in  a  most  essential  particular, 
is  a  power  inherent  in  the  office  of  the  Vice  President  of 
the  United  States.  I  have,  sir,  been  brought  up  in  oppo 
sition  to  that  school  of  politics  from  which  such  princi 
ples  are  legitimate  emanations.  From  my  first  acquain 
tance  with  public  affairs  to  the  present  day,  I  have  regar 
ded  it  as  a  sacred  duty  to  resist  them  ;  and  I  consider  my 
self,  on  this  occasion,  as  in  the  discharge  of  that  duty. 
The  grave  matters  of  which  I  have  spoken,  with  much 
more  of  what  I  might  have  spoken  as  daily  passing  before 
our  eyes,  are,  as  has  been  before  observed,  identical  in 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN, 

principle  with  those  which  were  so  emphatically  adjudg 
ed   against  by  the  people,  in  1300.     They  are  presented 
in  a  different  and  far  more  dangerous  form ;  but  they  are 
nevertheless,  the  same,     The  spirit  of  encroachment  has, 
it  is  true,  become  more  wary,  but  it  is  not  a  bit  more  hon 
est.     Heretofore  the  system  was  coercion;  now  it  is  se 
duction.  Heretofore  unconstitutional  powers  were  exerci 
sed  to  force  submission,   now  they    are   assumed  to  pur 
chase  golden  opinions  from    the  people   with  their   own 
means.     It  is  a  great  mistake,   sir,  to  attribute  the  radical 
change  in  government,  effected   contemporaneously  with 
the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  either  to  excess  of  taxation, 
or  practical  oppression  under  the  alien  and  sedition  laws. 
Those,   doubtless,  produced   great   and  just   excitement  j 
but  it  did  not  belong  to  their  nature  to  produce  such  last 
ing  consequences.     Acts   of  individual    oppression  had 
been  committed  before,  and    have,    in    different    degrees, 
been  committed  since.     But,  after  having  caused  more  or 
less  of  public  excitement  at  the  time,  they   have  passed 
away  with  the  occasion  that  produced  them.     Such  is  hu 
man  nature  now — such    has  it  been    in  all   ages  of  the 
world.     The  acts  I  have  alluded  to,  highly  exceptionable 
as  they  undoubtedly  were,  could  never  Tiave  produced  an 
unyielding  exclusion  from  the  confidence  of  a  majority 
of 'the  people,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  of 
large,  masses  of  men  distinguished  for  talent  and  private 
worth.     No,  sir,  said  he,  the  cause  of  that  great  and  glo 
rious  struggle  lies  deeper — much  deeper.     It  proceeded, 
not  from  the  consequences  of  those  acts,  but  from  an  op 
position  to  the  principle  upon  which  they  are   founded — • 
that  principle  was   an  alarming   extension  of  the  con 
structive  powers  of  this  government — it  arose,  as  he  had 
before  said,  from  a  settled  conviction  in  the  rninds  of  the 
people,  that  a  deliberate  plan  had  been  formed  by  the  men 
then  in  power,  to  change  the  government,  from    its    true 
republican  form,  to  one,  if  not  monarchical,  at   least   too 
much  inclined  to  that  direction.     It  was   the  apprehen 
sion  that  they  were  about  to  be  despoiled  of  the  promised 
fruits  of  the  revolution,  that  aroused  and  called  into  vigo 
rous  action    that  same  great  spirit  by   which  the  revolu 
tion  itself  was    accomplished.     It  is  to  that  cause   only 
that  results  unknown  to  the  politics  of  any  other  country, 
are  to  be  attributed.     The  cause  was  at  least  adequate,  if 
all  the  consequences   have   not  been  permanent.     And 
what  is  the  true  character  of  the  times  upon  which,  in  the 
25 


290  THE  LIFE  OF 

course  of  events,  and   the  providence   of  God,    we   have 
fallen?     Most  unpropitious,  truly. 

"  If  the  views  in  relation  to  the  powers  of  this  govern 
ment,  avowed  by  the  present  Executive,  and  which  lie  at 
the  foundation  of  the  present  administration,  are  the  true 
doctrines  of  the  constitution,  then  was  '•the  great  political 
revolution  of  1800  founded  in  gross  error,  if  not  palpa 
ble  fraud  upon  the  people?  Disguise  the  matter  as  you 
will,  said  he,  '  to  this  complexion  must  we  come  at  last.' 
It  was  most  manifest,-  he  said,  that  whatever  effect  the 
events  of  1797-8-9  and  1800  had  had  upon  the  federal  men 
of  that  day,  their  consequences  upon  the  principles  that 
then  prevailed,  have  not  been  as  eifectual  as  was  hoped, 
and  for  a  season  believed* 

'  We  have  scotched  the  snake,  not  killed  it ; 
'  She'll  close  and  be  herself  again.' 

"Buthe  trusted  the  prediction  would  not  be  verified 
She'll  not  close  again.  The  people  will  prevent  it.  He 
must  indeed  be  a  miserable  judge  of  public  sentiment, 
who  cannot  see  in  its  daily  indications  that  the  same  spirit 
which  once  before  rescued  the  constitution  from  the 
hands  of  its  enemies,  is  at  this  moment  fully  roused.  The 
excesses  of  the  last  three  years  have  produced  in  this 
country  changes  of  public  opinion  wholly  without  prece 
dent.  The  time,  he  trusted,  was  not  far  distant,  when 
the  interpolations  which  had  been  attempted  upon  the 
constitution,  with  the  wretched  sophisms  by  which  they 
were  supported,  will  be  subjects  of  severe  reprehension ; 
nay,  of  derision,  with  the  people,  and  when  a  great  por 
tion  of  the  talents  ihat  have  been  employed  in  weaving 
the  net,  will  need  all  its  own  ingenuity  to  escape  its 
meshes.  He  hoped  he  had  not  been  understood  as 
supposing  that  all  who  had  heretofore  been  ranked  among 
the  supporters  of  the  high-toned  doctrines 'he  had  con 
demned,  must  of  consequence  occupy  the  same  station 
now.  By  no  means.  He  would  be  ashamed  of  himself 
to  be  found  the  author  of  sentiments  so  contracted  and 
illiberal.  He  knew  too  well,  that  although,  to  a  certain  ex 
tent,  names  are  things,  they  are  not  always  the  unerring 
evidence  of  the  things  they  signify.  The  full  experi 
ment^  in  peace  and  in  war,  which  we  have  now  had  of 
the  respective  operations  and  efficiency  of  the  Federal  and 
state  governments,  ought  to  satisfy  every  dispassionate 
inquirer  after  truth,  of  the  fallacy  of  opinions  once  so 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

extensively  entertained.  Those  who  thought  so  ought 
to  abandon  them,  and  all  who  are  wise  enough  to  be  hon 
est,  will  do  so.  It  is  of  itself  immaterial  by  what  politi 
cal  appellation  men  have  heretofore  been  called.  The 
great  question  is,  what  are  honestly  their  present  senti 
ments  upon  those  great  points  which  have,  from  the  be 
ginning,  divided  the  American  people,  and  would,  he 
feared,  continue  to  do  so  to  the  end  ? 

"  Mr.  Van  Buren  said  that,  contrary  to  his  first  impres 
sion,  he  would  vote  in  favor  of  the  whole  amendment 
proposed  by  the  Senator  from  Connecticut.  He  would  do 
so  because  it  would  be  the  most  effectual  manner  in  which 
he  could  assist  in  putting  down  what,  with  all  respect  for 
the  opinions  of  his  fellow  Senators,  he  could  not  but  re 
gard  as  a  monstrous  construction  of  the  constitution. 
The  amendment  proposed  an  appeal  from  the  decision  of 
the  Vice  President  to  the  Senate.  If  he  believed  that  the 
Vice  President  possessed  the  power  in  question  by  virtue 
of  his  office,  he  could  not  vote  for  so  great  an  encroach 
ment  upon  his  constitutional  rights  as  to  subject  their  ex 
ercise  to  a  supervision  not  provided  for  by  the  constitu 
tion.  If,  therefore,  the  amendments  were  adopted,  he 
hoped  we  should  hear  no  more  of  an  inherent  right^ 
which  you,  sir,  have,  much  to  your  credit,  refused  to  usurp, 
and  which  we,  as  I  cannot  but  think,  to  our  discredit,  are 
attempting  to  force  upon  you,  nolens  volens." 


CHAPTER    XIX, 


Pernicious  effects  of  the  system  of  incorporated  Bank 
ing  companies  in  the  United  States.  Opposition  of 
Mr.  Van  Bur  en  to  the  extension  of  this  system  in  the 
state  of  New  York.  His  opposition  to  the  bank  of  the 
United  States. 

• 

It  is  the  striking  remark  of  a  statesman  of  much 
experience  in  public  affairs,  who,  amid  dignified 
retirement,  in  the  evening  of  his  days,  has  devoted 
a  penetrating  mind  to  the  most  elaborate  political 
research,  "  that  associated  wealth  is  the  dynasty  of 
modern  states."* 

The  apothegm  is  true  of  Europe,  where  bankers 
are  already  the  real  monarchs,  and  a  poor  noble 
man  or  a  poor  king  is  as  impotent  as  any  other 
poor  man.  But  in  this  country  it  has  its  most 

*  The  Hon.  Samuel  C.  Allen,  of  Mass,  whose  disinterested  ef 
forts  to  defend  the  rights  of  those  who  live  by  their  own  labor, 
have  brought  upon  him  the  most  outrageous  abuse,  from  those  who 
^ive  by  the  labor  of  their  fellow-men. 

25* 


294  THE  LIFE  OF 

striking  application.  The  written  charter  of  our 
national  liberties  guards  against  a  dynasty  of  he 
reditary  rank  or  of  legitimate  descent.  It  has  not 
proved  a  safeguard  against  a  dynasty  of  associated 
wealth.  The  aristocratic  principle,  which  is  in 
herent  in  the  nature  of  man  and  has  exhibited  its 
activity  in  all  ages,  by  monopolizing  the  blessings 
of  life,  has  been  cut  off  from  most  of  its  accustom 
ed  means  of  manifestation,  by  the  founders  of  our 
government.  The  spirit  of  tyranny  cannot  exhibit 
itself  in  this  country  by  monopolizing  legislation, 
or  titles,  or  rank.  Orders  of  nobility,  primogeni- 
tal  rights,  inherited  rank,  and  birth  right  privileges, 
of  every  kind,  have  been  exterminated  by  the  bra 
very  and  wisdom  of  our  patriotic  ancestors.  But 
one  channel  remains  for  the  spirit  of  aristocracy  to 
pour  its  entire  flood  into  ;  it  is  the  monopoly  of 
wealth.  One  weak  point  exists  in  the  fortress  of 
our  freedom  ;  it  is  that  which  may  be  assailed  by 
the  engine  of  combined  wealth.  One  order  of  no 
bility  is  not  guarded  against ;  an  order  untitled,  it  is 
true,  but  possessing  attributes  more  radically  inju 
rious  to  popular  rights  than  all  the  empty  insignia 
of  foreign  aristocracy.  It  is  based,  not  upon  the 
respect  which  is  naturally  paid  to  the  descendant 
from  a  long  line  of  illustrious  ancestors,  but  upon 
the  influence  of  that  sordid  principle  in  men,  which, 
the  greatest  of  all  reformers  in  religion  and  politics, 
characterized  as,  "  the  root  of  all  evil."  Wealth  is 
the  grand  engine  of  self  exaltation  and  of  popular 
oppression  in  this  country.  Such  is  the  nature  of 
our  institutions  that  the  love  of  domination,  inhe- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  295 

rent  in  the  human  breast,  has  here,  no  other  outlet. 
Of  all  inventions  which  have  been  put  in  opera 
tion,  in  this  country,  to  promote  the  inordinate  ac 
cumulation  of  wealth,  the  most  exceptionable  are 
incorporated  companies ;  and  the  worst  of  all  in 
corporated  companies  are  banks.  It  is  a  cardinal 
principle  of  political  economy  that  labor  is  the  on 
ly  means  of  creating  wealth.  Labor  draws  wealth 
from  land  and  from  other  natural  sources.  Its 
operations  are  greatly  aided  by  capital,  in  various 
shapes,  and  in  some  branches,  a  certain  amount  of 
floating  capital,  that  is,  money  and  credit,  is  almost 
indispensable.  The  laborer  seldom  possesses  this 
capital ;  he  is  willing  to  give  a  portion  of  the  pro 
ceeds  of  his  labor,  for  the  use  of  it ;  and  the  owner 
of  the  capital  is  thus  enabled  to  enjoy  a  portion  of 
the  fruits  of  the  poor  man's  labor.  Such  must 
ever  be  the  course  of  things  where  any  inequalities 
of  wealth  exist ;  and  inequalities  of  wealth  must 
exist  while  inequalities  of  natural  talents,  of  virtue 
and  intelligence,  pervade  a  community.  But  it  is 
the  policy  of  political  systems  which  aim  to  se 
cure  the  happiness  of  all,  in  equal  degrees,  to  di 
minish  these  inequalities,  as  far  as  possible,  by  pre 
venting  the  individual  aggregation  of  capital,  and 
securing  to  labor  its  entire  fruits.  Banks  and 
monied  incorporations  strongly  counteract  this  po 
licy.  They  combine  the  floating  capital  in  great 
masses,  and  enable  its  owners  tfy  co-operation,  to 
prescribe  conditions  for  its  dispensation  to  borrow 
ers,  which  are  oppressive  and  burdensome.  They 
impede  the  natural  tendency  of  capital  to  equali- 


296  THE  LIFE  OF 

zation  and  distribution.  They  create  no  wealth  ; 
their  only  functions  are  to  accumulate  capital  and 
direct  its  operations.  Their  special  privileges  and 
extensive  combinations  of  selfish  interests,  enable 
them  to  do  this,  in  such  a  way,  as  to  extort  from 
industry  an  undue  portion  of  its  results.  The  very 
object  of  an  incorporate  charter  is  to  give  its 
possessors  artificial  powers  and  special  privileges, 
not  enjoyed  by  others,  or  an  exemption  from  lia 
bilities  to  which  others  are  subjected.  Rich  men, 
thus  combining  their  fortunes  to  a  certain  extent, 
to  control  the  loaning  of  capital,  and,  unlike  ordi 
nary  partners  in  business,  exempt,  from  personal 
liability,  are  enabled  to  oppress  the  individual  la 
borer  who,  in  solitary  poverty,  eats  his  bread  "  in 
the  sweat  of  his  face." 

All  such  combinations  of  wealth  against  labor, 
of  accumulation  against  productive  industry,  of 
the  rich  against  the  poor,  ought  to  be  regarded  with 
disapprobation,  by  a  government  which  professes 
to  dispense  its  benefits,  equally,  to  all. 

The  federal  constitution  gives  to  the  General 
Government  the  exclusive  right  to  coin  money. 
This  would  seem  to  vest  in  that  government,  a 
control  over  the  circulating  medium  of  the  nation. 
But  in  point  of  fact,  a  paper  currency  has  been  al 
most  universally  substituted  for  the  constitutional 
coin  of  the  government.  The  privilege  of  manu 
facturing  this  circulating  medium  has  been  confer 
red,  by  the  state  Legislatures,  upon  a  multitude  of 
incorporated  banks  ;  and  they  have  substituted,  in 
stead  of  money,  their  own  credit.  Their  notes  are 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  297 

called  money,  and  are  made  to  perform  its  func 
tions  ;  and  the  prerogative  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  has,  thus,  in  fact,  been  usurped  by  these  cor 
porate  bodies.  It  may  reasonably  be  doubted 
whether  the  whole  system,  from  beginning  to  end, 
is  not  an  infraction  of  the  constitution.  It  is,  at 
least,  an  evasion  of  its  plain  provisions,  pernicious 
in  its  influence  upon  industry  and  morals,  and 
meriting  the  firm  resistance  of  all  true  lovers  of 
equal  rights. 

At  the  head  of  the  vast  system  of  machinery  in 
this  country,  for  the  undue  aggregation  of  wealth, 
stands,  or  rather  stood,  the  bank  of  the  United 
States.  Resisted  in  its  embryo  state,  by  Jefferson, 
struck  down  for  a  time  by  the  casting  vote  of  Vice 
President  Clinton,  it  has  finally  received  its  death 
blow  from  the  hand  of  our  present  illustrious  chief 
magistrate. 

The  sentiments  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  on  a  matter 
of  so  great  importance,  deserve  a  careful  examin 
ation,  and  a  view  of  them  will  be  given  here. 

In  the  first  place,  it  may  be  stated,  that  he  has 
wholly  abstained  from  becoming  the  owner  of  any 
bank  stock,  or  taking  any  interest  in  any  company 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
since  the  period  of  his  first  entrance  into  the  Sen 
ate  of  that  state,  in  1812. 

In  the  next  place,  he  has  been  a  firm  opponent 
throughout  his  whole  public  hTe,  of  the  extension 
of  the  banking  system  in  the  state  of  New  York 
and  of  a  bank  of  the  United  States. 

His  public  opposition  may  be  traced  back  to 


298  THE  LIFE  OF 

1811.  In  February  of  that  year,  the  venerable 
George  Clinton,  the  Nestor  of  the  New  York  de 
mocracy,  by  his  casting  vote,  as  President  of  the 
Senate,  defeated  the  renewal  of  the  charter  ot  the 
bank  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Van  Buren  ar 
dently  and  vigorously  sustained  this  bold  act  of  pa 
triotism. 

When  the  project  of  replacing  this  bank  by  the 
bank  of  America  in  New  York,  was  brought  for 
ward,  Mr.  Van  Buren  took  the  most  decided  .stand 
against  it.  He  was  active  in  originating  a  conven 
tion  of  the  democracy  of  his  county  to  oppose  it, 
and  delivered  an  elaborate  and  powerful  speech 
against  the  proposed  measure. 

In  the  spring  of  1812,  Governor  Tompkins  pro 
rogued  the  Legislature,  to  prevent  the  passage  of 
the  charter  of  the  bank ;  and  Mr.  Van  Buren 
yielded  this  energetic,  but  necessary,  exercise  of 
power,  his  firmest  support. 

The  opposition  of  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  to  banks 
in  general,  is  well  known  ;  an  opposition  in  which 
the  elder  and  younger  Clinton  co-operated.  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  during  his  whole  political  course  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  was  found  in  the  same  oppo 
sition.  No  public  man  has  ever  been  more  op 
posed  to  the  extension  of  the  banking  system.  The 
journals  of  the  New  Y'ork  Senate  evince,  that  dur 
ing  the  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  that  body, 
he  was  constant  and  zealous  in  his  opposition  to  the 
increase  of  banks.  After  he  ceased  to  be  a  mem 
ber  of  that  body,  he  viewed  every  measure  calcu 
lated  to  check  the  extension  of  banks,  with  strong 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  399 

approbation  ;  and  in  May,  1827,  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  he  alluded  to  the  applications  for 
bank  charters  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  said, 
"  the  Legislature,  to  its  honor,  at  the  last,  session, 
had  refused  all  applications  of  this  description." 

The  question  of  re-chartering  the  bank  of  the 
United  States  did  not  arise  during  his  service  in 
the  United  States  Senate.  But  the  doctrine  of  a 
strict  construction  of  the  constitution,  which  he 
maintained  on  all  occasions,  was  levelled  in  a  great 
measure,  against  the  bank  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  in  his  speech  on  the  powers  of  the  Vice  Presi 
dent,  in  1828,  he  characterizes  the  incorporation  of 
that  bank  as  the  "  great  pioneer  of  constitutional 
encroachments." 

This  solemn  declaration  against  the  constitution 
ality  of  the  bank  was  made,  it  will  be  noticed,  be 
fore  the  election  of  General  Jackson  to  the  Presi 
dency,  and  two  years  before  his  message  in  1830, 
first  calling  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the 
newal  of  the  charter. 

Having  thus  shown  Mr.  Van  Buren's  steady  op 
position  to  the  banking  system,  in  general,  and  the 
bank  of  the  United  States  in  particular,  from  his 
first  entrance  upon  political  life  to  the  last  session 
of  his  service  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  it 
may  be  proper  to  bring  down  this  part  of  our  sub 
ject  to  the  present  time,  though  we  shall  be  obliged, 
thereby,  to  anticipate  some  portion  of  the  regular 
narrative. 

In  the  summer  of  1832,  when  Mr.  Van  Buren 
was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Vice  President,  a 


300  THE  LIFE  OF 

letter  was  addressed  to  him,  by  a  committee  of  a 
public  meeting  in  North  Carolina,  requesting  an 
expression  of  his  sentiments  on  various  topics  of 
public  interest.  His  reply  to  this  letter  is  dated 
October  4th,  1832.  So  far  as  it  relates  to  the  pro 
tective  system  and  internal  improvements,  it  has  al 
ready  been  laid  before  the  reader,  under  those  re 
spective  heads.  The  part  which  relates  to  the  bank 
of  the  United  States  is  as  follows : 

"  I  am  unreservedly  opposed  to  a  renewal  of  the  charter 
of  the  United  States  bank,  and,  approve  of  the  refusal  of 
the  President  to  sign  the  bill  passed  for  that  purpose,  as 
well  on  account  of  the  unconstitutionally,  as  the  impoli 
cy,  of  its  provisions." 

In  the  winter  of  1834,  the  country  was  suffering 
from  the  oppressions  of  the  bank  of  the  United 
States,  which  followed  the  removal  of  the  deposites. 
The  firmness  with  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  sustain 
ed  every  measure  for  the  suppression  of  the  bank, 
drew  upon  him  and  his  political  friends,  every 
species  of  suspicion  and  abuse.  Among  other 
things  it  was  suggested,  that  a  transference  of  the 
bank  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  was  the  end, 
really,  in  contemplation.  The  insinuation  was  in 
dignantly  repelled  by  Mr.  Wright  of  the  Senate,  in 
behalf  of  the  democracy  of  New  York  :  and  the 
hearty  concurrence  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  this  refu 
tation  of  a  calumny,  was  fully  known  to  all. 

When  the  panic  arising  partly  from  the  scarcity 
of  money,  but  more  from  the  inflammatory  har- 
rangues  of  certain  members  of  the  Senate,  was  at 


MARTIN  VAN  8UREN.  301 

its  greatest  height,  and  the  situation  of  the  com 
mercial  community,  had  become  truly  alarming, 
Mr.  Van  Buren  received  a  letter  from  a  per 
sonal  and  political  friend,  advising  him  of  a 
proposed  application  for  a  new  bank,  to  be  fixed 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  free  from  many  of 
the  objections  to  the  existing  bank.  In  his  re 
ply,  among  other  similar  sentiments,  is  the  fol 
lowing  : 

"  As  it  has  been  thought  proper  to  advise  me,  in  ad 
vance  of  the  contemplated  movement,  I  should  be  want 
ing  in  candor,  and  I  think  in  duty  also,  if  I  left  you  for  a 
moment  uninformed  of  my  sentiments  upon  this  subject. 
The  application  of  which  you  speak,  could  serve  no  other 
purpose  than  to  aid  the  existing  bank  in  the  efforts  it  is 
making  to  obtain  an  extension  of  its  charter,  and  to  ex 
pose  the  motives  of  the  opponents  of  the  bank  who  unite 
in  it,  to  the  imputation  (doubtless  in  the  present  case  an 
unjust  one)  of  having  been  influenced  in  their  opposition 
by  selfish  motives.  Of  this,  I  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt.  And  without  having  communicated  with  the 
members,  or  laying  claim  to  information  that  is  not  open 
toall  attentive  observers,  I  cannot  hesitate  in  believin^ 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain  a  dozen  votes  in  fa 
vor  of  such  a  proposition,  in  both  branches  of  the  National 
Legislature.  At  all  events,  I  think  it  proper,  to  say  to 
you,  that  it  could  not  receive  either  countenance  or  sup 
port  from  me.  I  could  not  act  otherwise,  without  a  de 
parture  from  principles  which  I  sincerely  entertain,  which 
have  been  avowed  to  the  people  before  my  election,  and 
which  I  feel  it  to  be  a  sacred  duty  to  maintain  invio 
late." 

The  Hon,  Thomas   II.  Benton,   United  States 
Senator  from  Missouri,  in  a  letter  to  General  Da 
vis   of  Mississippi,  dated  December   16th,  1834, 
bears  testimony  to  the    sentiments  of  Mr.    Van 
26 


302  THE  LIKE  OF 

Buren,  at  that  time.  Mr.  Benton's  efforts  to  re 
store  to  the  country  a  constitutional  currency  have 
given  him  a  proud  distinction  ;  the  country  yet  ex 
pects  much  from  his  exertions.  On  a  point,  with 
regard  to  which  his  own  views  are  so  clear  and  his 
solicitude  so  great,  his  testimony  is  of  peculiar 
value,  and  his  means  of  obtaining  accurate  infor 
mation  are  complete.  Alluding  to  Mr.  Van  Buren., 
he  says  : 

"I  have  known  that  gentleman  long  and  intimately. 
We  entered  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  together, 
thirteen  years  ago,  sat,  six  years,  in  seats  next  to  each 
other,  were  always  personally  friendly,  generally  acted 
together  on  leading  subjects  and  always  interchanged 
communications  and  reciprocated  confidence. 
He,  (Mr.  Van  Buren)  is  a  real  hard  money  man  ;  opposed 
to  the  paper  system;  in  favor  of  a  national  currency  of 
gold  ;  in  favor  of  an  adequate  silver  currency  for  common 
use;  against  a  small  note  currency,  and  in  favor  of  COH- 
fining  bank  notes  to  their  appropriate  sphere  and  original 
function,  that  of  large  notes  for  large  transactions  and 
mercantile  operations," 

In  the  next  place  it  will  be  proper  to  subjoin  the 
authorized  statement  of  a  gentleman  who  posses 
ses  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  an  eminent 
degree,  and  whose  testimony  is  beyond  impeach 
ment.  Mr.  Butler,  in  his  published  letter  to  Mr, 
Garland,  in  March  1835,  says  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
views  on  this  point : 

"  To  close  the  door  to  cavil,  I  state  ;  1st.  That  he 
holds  that  Congress  does  not  possess  the  power  to  estab 
lish  a  national  bank  in  any  of  the  states  of  the  Union,  nor 
to  establish,  in  such  states,  the  branch  of  any  bank,  located 
in  the  district  of  Columbia;  and  2ndly.  That  he  is,  there- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  3Q3 

fore,  decidedly-  opposed  to  the  establishment  of  a  national 
bank  in  any  of  the  states,  and  is  also  opposed  to  the  estab 
lishment  of  any  such  bank  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  as 
unnecessary  and  inexpedient,  and  as  liable  to  a  great  pro 
portion  of  the  abuses  which  have,  in  his  opinion,  been 
practiced  by  the  existing  bank."' 

Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this 
volume,  the  following  letter  has  been  addressed  by 
Mr.  Van  Burcn  to  certain  gentlemen  in  Cincinnati, 
in  reply  to  an  invitation  to  attend  a  celebration  in 
that  city.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  contains  a  most 
explicit  avowal  of  his  hostility  to  a  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  and  is  equally  decided  in  repre 
hending  the  "  improvidence  of  state  legislation"  by 
which  infringements  are,  almost  daily,  made  upon 
popular  rights  by  the  granting  of  bank  charters  and 
other  special  incorporations.  Many  professedly  re 
publican  legislatures  have,  certainly,  departed  in 
this  respect,  from  the  simplicity  and  purity  of  the 
ancient  democratic  faith  ;  and  it  is  highly  gratifying 
to  find  that  the  sentiments  of  Mr.  Van  Burcn  are 
closely  coincident  with  those  of  Jefferson  and  Jack 
son  on  these  cardinal  points, 

"  WASHINGTON,  Feb.  22,  1S36. 

'  Gentlemen  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re 
ceipt  of  your  letter,  inviting  me  in  behalf  of  the  friends  of 
free  principles  in  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  County,  to  attend 
their  proposed  celebration  of  the  deliverance  of  our  coun 
try  from  the  thraldom  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
and  asking  from  me,  in  case  it  should  not  be  convenient 
for  me  to  attend,  a  sentiment  appropriate  to  the  occa 
sion. 

"There  have  been,  in  my  opinion,  few  incidents  in  our 
political  history  more  worthy  of  notice,  by  means  of  a  pub- 
«ic  celebration,  than  the  one  you  are  about  thus  to  distin- 


304  THE  LIFE    OF 

guish.  The  sussessful  resistance  to  the  Herculean  effort? 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  bank  question,  was  a  result  most 
honorable  to  those  by  whose  immediate  agency  it  was  ef 
fected,  and  certainly  not  less  so  to  a  virtuous  and  patriot 
ic  people  by  whom  their  faithful  representatives  were 
cheered  and  sustained. 

"  However  plausible  the  speculation,  or  successful  the 
concealments  of  the  day,  the  design  of  the  bank  to  extort 
a  renewal  of  its  charter  from  the  apprehensions  and  dis 
tresses  of  the  country,  has  been  rendered  too  clear  by 
time  to  be  any  longer  contested.  To  speak  of  the  mighty 
means  which  this  aristocratic  institution  called  to  its 
aid  in  the  great  strugle  through  which  we  have  passed, 
would  be  to  suppose,  what  is  scarcely  possible,  that  the 
dark  traces  of  that  gloomy  period  can  ever  be  obliterated 
from  the  public  remembrance.  But  the  bank  mistook  the 
character  of  that  people  whose  stubborn  necks  it  proposed 
to  bend  to  its  selfish  interests  and  sinister  design.  It  was 
rebuked  and  diseomfittcd— but  by  no  means  discouraged. 
The  people  triumphed  in  that  open  contest,  but  before 
time  had  been  allowed  for  seasonable  celebrations  of  that 
triumph— even  since  your  festival  has  been  appointed,  and 
before  the  day  has  arrived  for  the  expression  of  your  joy — 
the  same  power,  fighting  under  the  same  panoply,  but 
changing  altogether  the  character  of  its  approach,  has 
again  entered  the  field  and  gained  a  victory  over  the  popu 
lar  will,  which  it  doubtless  considers  brilliant  and  resist 
less.  But  how  changed  the  mode  of  warfare  in  this  last 
effort!  Instead  of  commercial  distress,  public  and  private 
embarrassment,  and  all  the  concomitants  of  an  uncontrola- 
ble  panic  in  the  public  mind,  plenty  and  even  profusion 
pervaded  the  city  of  the  bank,  while  its  noiseless  approach 
to  the  legislative  power  was  characterised  by  a  despatch 
altogether  unprecedented  in  so  important  a  matter  in  the 
history  of  legislation.  Before  even  the  movement  is 
known  in  the  remote  quarters  of  the  Union,  the  public 
mind  is  astounded  by  the  acquisition  of  a  charter  from  the 
government  of  a  single  state,  the  apprehended  grant  of 
which  by  Congress  had  filled  the  minds  of  a  vast  majority 
of  the  American  people  with  dismay  ;  and  for  the  attain 
ment  of  which  from  that  body  all  the  powers  of  earth  had 
been  invoked  in  vain. 

"You  will  do  right  not  to  suffer  this  event,  untoward  as  it 
is,  to  deter  you  from  rejoicing  at  the  victory  which  the 
whole  people  have  won.  Leaving  the  partial  success  of 
the  Bank  and  its  consequences  to  the  consideration  and 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  305 

disposition  of  a  virtuous  and  justly  offended  public,  it  is  a 
matter  of  the  highest  congratulation  that  the  advances  of 
this  presumptuous  institution  upon  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  at  least,  have  been  successfully  arrested.  In  that 
quarter  our  victory  is,  to  all  appearances,  complete  ;  but 
•whether  or  not  it  is  to  be  permanent,  must  depend,  in  a 
great  degree  upon  the  states.  Nothing  short  of  the  mad 
ness  of  Slate  Legislation  ean  prevent  its  being  so.  It 
was  in  the  inexcusable  improvidence  of  state  legislation 
that  the  present  bank  found  its  origin,  and  it  is  to  the 
same  source  doubtless  that  it  looks  for  a  resuscitation. 
Time  will  soon  determine  whether  the  well  disposed 
men  of  the  present  day  are  wiser  than  were  their 
predecessors  ;  or  whether  the  lights  of  a  most  severe 
experience  h?.ve  been  shed  v.pon  this  subject  to  no  good 
purpose, 

"  As  far  as  your  growing  and  patriotic  state  is  concern 
ed,  the  prospect  is  cheering  indeed.  From  the  bottom  of 
my  heart  do  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  noble  stand 
which  Ohio  appears  to  have  taken,  at  this  critical  mo 
ment,  upon  the  subject  of  banks.  Her  course  is  de 
serving  of  all  commendation,  and  may  well  be  looked  to 
by  her  older  sisters  in  the  confederacy,  not  only  with  ad 
miration  but  wkh  profit.  Who  can  have  forgotten  the  in 
tense  anxiety  and  warmly  cherished  hope  with  which 
Mr.  Jefferson  looked  to  his  favorite  West,  to  his  hardy 
yeomanry  of  the  new  states,  for  the  preservation  of  the 
simplicity  and  purity  of  our  republican  institutions  against 
the  seductive  influences,  and  artificial  distinctions  of  so 
ciety,  to  which  the  Atlantic  states  were  peculiarly  exposed? 
Who  can  forget  the  deep  tone  of  regret  with  which  he 
contemplated  a  disappointment  ?  May  we  not  safely  look 
upon  the  noble  example  which  the  largest,  and  certainly 
not  the  least  patriotic  of  the  new  states  is  now  offering  to 
her  confederates,  as  the  sure  promise  of  a  new  and  brigh 
ter  day  than  that  foreboded  by  this  great  and  good  man  1 
May  we  not  further  hope  that  those  who  by  their  position, 
by  their  pursuits,  and  by  their  every  interest,  have  the- 
greatest  stake  in  the  greatest  cause  of  equal  rights,  will  al 
so  make  it  the  object  of  their  highest  ambition  to  be  among 
the  foremost  to  uphold  the  constitution  in  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  that  sacred  instrument ;  and  to  preserve  in  its  en 
tire  purity  the  simple  but  happy  system  of  government, 
under  which  we  have  hitherto  so  securely  lived  and  so 
greatly  flourished  ? 

"  To  have  been  first  selected  by  your  state  as  a  candi- 
26* 


306  THE  LIFE  OF 

date  for  the  Presidency,  I  shall  ever  regard  as  one  of  the 
most  gratifying  incidents  of  my  public  life;  yet  I  cannot 
adequately  express  to  you  how  much  this  distinction,  so 
well  calculated  in  itself  to  command  my  unceasing  grati 
tude,  is  enhanced  in  my  estimation  by  the  conviction  that 
Ohio  will  maintain  this  high  stand  upon  this  all  impor 
tant  subject. 

"  Nothing  would  give  me  more  unfeigned  pleasure  than 
to  assist  in  person  in  your  commendable  effort  to  rivet  up 
on  the  public  mind  the  vast  importance  of  the  great  event 
you  commemorate,  were  it  in  my  power  to  do  so  :  but  I 
regret  that  it  is  not  in  my  power. 

"  In  complying  with  your  request  to  furnish  a  senti 
ment  for  the  occasion,  my  mind  is  necessarily  turned  to 
him,  who,  during  the  stormy  period  to  which  your  atten 
tion  is  directed,  was  emphatically  the  helmsman  of  the 
ship,  without  whose  quick  eye  and  strong  arm,  she  must 
have  yielded  to  the  tempest.  I  know  well  that  where  so 
many  did  their  duty  firmly  and  fearlessly,  this  is  saying  a 
great  deal  for  the  services  of  any  one  man,  and  yet  I  am 
fully  convinced  I  do  no  more  than  simple  justice.  Such 
Was  the  opinion  formed  from  my  own  observation,  with 
the  best  possible  means  of  coming  to  a  correct  conclusion. 
Such  I  believe  to  be  the  undisputed  opinion  of  his  contem 
poraries,  such  must  be  the  judgment  of  posterity.  1  there 
fore,  give  you,  gentlemen: 

"  Andrew  Jackson — No  one  has  done  more  than  he,  to 
advance  the  great  principle  of  self-government,  ex 
pounded  by  Jefferson,  and  established  on  the  battle  field 
by  Washington." 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen, 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

To  MOSES  DAWSON,  Chairman. 

From  these  facts  and  statements,  it  appears  to 
the  present  writer,  that  whatever  may  be  thought 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  opinions  on  other  topics,  he 
will  appear  to  be  decidedly  "  committed"  on  the 
subject  of  a  bank  of  the  United  States. 

It  may  be  proper,  here,  to  remark  that  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  307 

States  on  the  6th  of  February  1827,  by  a  vote, 
of  twenty-three  to  eight  in  the  Senate,  and  of 
eighty-two  to  thirty-one  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  ;  uniting  in  both  houses,  the  entire  demo 
cratic  votes. 


CHAPTER   XX, 


MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  support  of  the  bill  providing  for  the 
surviving  officers  of  the  Revolution.  Summary  view 
of  his  sentiments  on  various  political  questions.  His 
constant  observance  of  the  icill  of  the  people.  Right 
and  capacity  of  the  people  to  direct  the  administration 
of  the  government. 

In  presenting  a  view  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  ser 
vices  as  Senator  of  the  United  States,  the  support 
he  rendered  to  the  bill  for  relieving  the  surviving 
officers  of  the  revolutionary  army  ought  not  to  be 
omitted,  though  the  discussion  so  far  as  he  engaged 
in  it,  presented  few  abstract  political  questions. 
Great  as  should  be  the  caution,  in  a  republican 
government,  in  dispensing  pensions  or  pecuniary 
provisions  for  any  class  of  men,  no  public  act  of 
Congress  ever  drew  forth,  from  the  American  peo 
ple,  a  more  unanimous,  heartfelt  and  warm  ap 
proval,  than  that  by  which  a  retributive  provision 
was  made  for  the  patriots  of  the  revolution. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  joined  in  the  debate  on  this  in- 


310  THE  LIFE   OF 

teresting  topic,  at  different  times,  and  lent  to  the 
proposed  measure  the  aid  of  his  best  exertions  and 
utmost  influence.  A  speech  which  he  delivered 
in  the  Senate,  on  the  28th  of  January  1828,  is 
among  the  most  elaborate  in  point  of  argument, 
rich  in  historical  illustration,  and  forcible  in  thought, 
and  language,  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of 
parliamentary  eloquence. 

It  is  a  matter  of  sincere  regret,  that  the  plan  of 
the  present  work  is  such  as  necessarily  to  exclude 
this  eloquent  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  past  gen 
eration,  and  appeal  to  the  justice  of  the  present. 

Other   subjects   of  considerable  temporary  in 
terest,  received  the  attention  of  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
during  his  continuance  in  the  United    States  Sen 
ate.    The  suppression  of  piracy,  the  Yazoo  claims, 
the  Florida  wreckers,  the  Creek  treaty,  and  in 
deed  most  of  the  leading  topics  which  were  dis 
cussed  on  the   floor  of  the  Senate  chamber  called 
forth  his  opinions,  and  often  were  the  occasions  of 
long  and  able  speeches.     These  topics,  however, 
not  involving  any  cardinal  political  principles,  are 
not  particularly  introduced  in  the  present  abbrevi 
ated  summary.      From  the  extracts  already  em 
bodied  in  these  pages,  the  reader  may  form  some 
adequate  estimate  of  his  indefatigable  exertions  in 
the  Senate,  and  a  just  and  complete  view,  it  is  be 
lieved,  of  his  sentiments,  on   most   of  the   leading 
political  questions  which  agitate   the   community. 
Few  public  men  have  been  more  explicit  and  dis 
tinct,  than  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  the  avowal  of  their 
principles  on  all  political  questions  ;  if  these  prjn- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

ciples  have  failed  to  meet  the  notice  of  any  one,  if 
must  have  been  through  great  inattention  to  public 
affairs.  His  opinions  have  been  openly  avowed ; 
they  arc  on  record  before  the  public,  and  are  here 
brought  together,  from  sources  which  are  open  to 
all.  It  was  truly  said  by  himself,  in  his  speech  at 
a  public  meeting  in  Albany,  in  1827,  that  in  the 
"  course  of  his  public  career?  he  had  unavoidably 
been  connected  writh  political  subjects,  neither  free 
from  excitement,  nor  inconsiderable  in  point  of  re 
sponsibility."  From  the  exposition  here  given, 
the  candid  reader  may  judge  whether  he  has  ever 
shrunk  from  that  responsibility,  or  been  turned  by 
that  excitement,  from  an  independent  and  ingenu 
ous  course.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  present 
writer  to  adduce  every  thing  which  might  tend  to= 
the  clear  exposition  of  his  political  sentiments  ; 
nothing  has  been,  intentionally  omitted,  glossed 
over,  or  unfairly  represented.  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
real  opinions,  as  expressed  by  himself,  whether 
right  or  wrong,  just  or  unjust,  have  been  fairly 
laid  before  the  public  in  the  foregoing  pages.  He. 
wrould  be  singularly  fortunate  and  happily  exempt 
from  the  ordinary  lot  of  humanity,  if,  in  the  course 
of  a  long  political  career,  he  had  never  expressed 
sentiments,  or  advocated  principles,  which  at  a  sub 
sequent  period  and  with  a  maturer  judgment,  he 
might  wish  to  modify  or  recall.  Doubtless,  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  views  of  truth,  like  those  of  other 
men,  have  grown  clearer  with  more  mature  re 
flection  and  riper  years.  If  any  progress  of  this 
kind  be  apparent,  or  any  discrepancies,  at  different 


THE  LIFE  OP 

periods,  appear,  the  means  of  detecting  them  are 
now,  fully,  before  his  political  opponents,  from 
whom  no  mercy  or  indulgence  will  ever  be  asked 
by  his  friends  in  his  behalf.  The  writer  will,  at 
least,  be  much  mistaken,  if  the  oft  reiterated  charge 
of  withholding  his  sentiments  from  public  view, 
does  not  meet  with  a  perfect  refutation  in  the  fore 
going  pages.  Misrepresentation  will  no  longer 
have  to  contend  with  a  shadow  ;  the  substance 
appears,  in  too  broad  a  light,  to  be  unnoticed  by 
the  most  imperfect  and  distorted  vision.  The  po 
litical  opinions  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  herewith  com 
mitted  to  the  public,  are  sufficient,  at  any  rate,  to 
occupy,  for  a  considerable  time,  the  ingenuity  of 
his  political  opponents  in  their  refutation. 

It  will  be  seen  that  he  has  been,  from  his  ear 
liest  political  life,  opposed  to  the  extension  of  the 
banking  system,  in  all  its  shapes,  and  especially  to 
a  national  bank  in  any  form  ;  that  he  has  labored 
in  his  native  state,  to  extend  the  right  of  suffrage 
to  its  utmost  limits  ;  that  he  has,  with  equal  assi 
duity,  struggled  for  the  abolition  of  imprisonment 
for  debt ;  that  he  has  urged  with  perseverance, 
though  not,  alas,  with  success,  such  an  amendment 
of  the  constitution  as  would  give  the  choice  of 
President  to  the  people,  and  withdraw  it  altogeth 
er,  from  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  that  he 
has  opposed,  with  his  utmost  ability,  those  lax  con 
structions  of  the  constitution  which  have  led  to 
lavish  expenditures  for  internal  improvements  and 
have  tended  to  the  enlargement  of  the  powers  of 
the  General  Government  so  as  to  endanger  the 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

sovereignties  of  the  states  ;  that  he  has  been  averse 
to  a  high  tariff,  though  obe^IenTto" the  will  of  his 
constituents,  notwithstanding  his  personal  judg 
ment,  on  a  point  involving,  in  his  opinion,  no  vio 
lation  of  the  constitution ;  that  on  the  great  ques 
tions  of  disposing  of  the  public  lands  ;  of  protect 
ing  Commerce,  and  of  providing  a  tardy,  but  just 
compensation  for  the  heroes  of  the  revolution,  he 
has  avowed  the  most  patriotic  and  liberal  senti 
ments  ;  that  he  has  been  the  unwavering  champion 
of  national  honor  and  the  protection  of  the  rights 
of  American  citizens,  in  his  extraordinary  zeal  to 
sustain  the  late  war,  to  suppress  piracy  and  to  se 
cure  the  colonial  trade  ;  that  in  all  the  responsible 
and  exciting  conditions  of  a  long  and  laborious 
political  career,  he  has  risen  above  considerations 
of  personal  interest  and  private  resentment,  and 
been  guided  by  the  most  enlightened  political 
principles  and  the  purest  devotion  to  the  public 
weal. 

No  wonder,  therefore,  that  he  has,  in  an  extra 
ordinary  degree,  secured  the  approbation  and  won 
the  confidence  of  the  great  body  of  the  people. 
No  wonder  that  he  has,  in  his  own  distinguished 
success,  demonstrated  the  truth  of  a  sentiment  he 
once  expressed,  that  "  while  he  had  seen  those 
who  played  a  part,  though  they  played  it  ever  so 
well,  after  a  brief  season,  exposed  to  the  chilling 
indifference,  if  not  positive  contempt,  of  a  gener 
ous  but  just  community,  he  had  never  yet  seen  un- 


27 


314  THE  LIFE   OF 

pretending,  but  honest  zeal  and  practical  efforts  to 
be  useful,  go  without  their  ultimate  reward."* 

Mr.  Van  Buren  has,  himself,  on  many  occasions, 
announced  the  great  rule  of  his  public  life.  He 
said,  in  connection  with  the  foregoing  remark ; 
"  It  had  been  the  business  of  his  life  to  make  him 
self  acquainted  with  that  public  sentiment,  which, 
though  sometimes  misled  by  excitement,  was  al 
ways  honest,  and  in  the  end  always  right." 

This  entire  deference  to  the  popular  voice,  the 
first  example  of  which,  in  a  Chief  Magistrate,  was 
afforded  by  Jefferson,  and  the  last  by  Jackson,  is, 
no  doubt,  regarded  by  a  certain  class  of  politicians 
as  the  most  exceptionable  feature  in  the  public  life 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  But  to  what  safer  tribunal 
can  resort  be  had  ? 

Is  wealth  to  form  the  qualification  for  judging  of 
public  affairs  ?  This  will  hardly  be  contended  for. 
Are  such  matters  to  be  submitted  to  the  determi 
nation  of  those  who  are  called  great  men  ? — Men 
of  striking  genius  are  often  deficient  in  sound 
judgment.  Should  the  learned  control  public  opin 
ion  1  Learning  is  not  wisdom,  and  the  most  culti 
vated  minds,  in  all  ages,  have  been  too  prone  to 
cringe  before  tyrants.  Shall  orthodoxy  in  religion 
and  correct  morals  be  appealed  to  ?  Then  who 
shall  fix  the  standard  of  truth?  Besides,  these  ex 
cellencies  do  not,  necessarily,  imply  the  highest  in 
tellectual  capacity.  Where  then  shall  we  resort 
but  to  public  sentiment  ?  What  other  criterion 

*  Speech  at  the  capitol  in  Albany,  July,  1827. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  315 

can  be  set  up,  than  the  majority  of  the  people  ? 
None  ;  perverted  as  that  judgment  may  sometimes 
be,  by  prejudice  and  want  of  information,  it  is,  with 
all  its  errors,  the  safest  and  surest  standard  of  po 
litical  truth. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN  supports  Mr.  Crawford  for  the  Presi 
dency,  in  1824.  Opposes  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Adams.  Sustains  General  Jackson  for  the  Presiden 
cy,  in  1828.  Is  elected  Governor  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  and  resigns  his  seat  in  the  Senate.  Introduces 
the  "  safety  fund  system." 

In  February  1824,  Mr.  Crawford  was  nomina 
ted  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  by  a  con 
gressional  caucus  in  Washington.  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren  co-operated  in  this  nomination  and  subsequent 
ly  gave  it  his  most  vigorous  support.  Mr.  Craw 
ford  had  been  a  distinguished  member  of  the  cabi 
net  for  nearly  ten  years.  In  the  congressional 
caucus  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  President,  in 
1816,  he  received  nearly  the  same  number  of 
votes  as  were  give  for  Mr.  Monroe,  and  stood, 
certainly,  next  to  that  gentleman,  in  the  public  es 
timation.  The  admirers  of  the  policy  of  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  looked  to  Mr.  Crawford,  as  a  candidate,  who, 
27* 


318  THE  LIFE  OF 

if  elected,  would  bring  back  the  government  to 
those  principles.  In  the  state  of  New  York* 
which  was  violently  agitated  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  electors  should  be  appointed,  ]\f  r.  Crawford 
received  but  five  electoral  votes,  out  of  thirty-six. 
In  the  electoral  college,  ninety-nine  votes  were  giv 
en  for  GeneralJackson,  eighty-four  for  Mr.  Adams, 
forty-one  for  Mr.  Crawford,  and  thirty-seven  for 
Mr.  Clay.  In  the  House  of  Representatives, 
whither  the  election  was  thus  carried,  by  the  coa 
lition  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Clay, 
the  former  received  the  votes  of  thirteen  states, 
General  Jackson,  of  seven,  and  Mr.  Crawford,  of 
four.  The  ill  health  of  Mr.  Crawford,  at  this  cri 
sis,  much  impaired  his  chance  of  success.  In  the 
ultimate  decision  of  the  choice  between  Mr.  Adams 
and  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Van  Buren  took  no  de 
cided  part. 

It  was  obvious  from  the  vote  in  the  electoral 
college,  that  at  the  time  of  the  election  of  Mr. 
Adams,  General  Jackson  was  prefered  by  a  ma 
jority  of  the  people.  This  preference  was  much 
strengthened  by  an  increasing  knowledge  of  his 
character  and  principles,  as  well  as  by  the  anti-de 
mocratic  policy  adopted  by  his  rival.  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  as  we  have  seen,  felt  himself  obliged  to 
take  the  lead  in  vigorously  opposing  many  of  the 
measures  of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams. 
He  was  equally  zealous  and  equally  active  in  sus 
taining  General  Jackson  for  the  Presidency,  in 
1828.  Indeed,  he  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of 
General  Jackson  soon  after  the  election  of  Mr. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  319 

Adams  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  Feb 
ruary  1825.  The  contest  involved  the  same  prin 
ciples  as  were  the  subject  of  controversy  at  the 
election  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1801.  It  was  the 
struggle  of  the  democratic  principle  against  the 
united  strength  of  various  aristocratic  factions.  In 
the  election  of  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
plainly  foresaw  that  he  should  witness  the  triumph 
of  those  principles  for  which  he  had  struggled  from 
his  earliest  years>-  In  his  defeat,  he  foresaw  with 
equal  clearness,  the  ratification  of  alarming  en 
croachments  upon  the  constitution  and  the  con 
firmed  perversion  of  the  administration  of  the  gov 
ernment  from  its  true  principles.  In  a  contest  in 
volving  such  vital  interests,  he  naturally  put  forth 
his  most  zealous  and  persevering  efforts. 

The  happy  result  of  this  great  struggle  is  known 
to  all.  It  was  such  as  to  gratify  the  most  ardent 
wishes  of  the  patriot,  and  to  afford  new  proof  of 
the  patriotism  of  the  people.  It  was  a  triumph 
which,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  "  while  it 
infused  fresh  vigor  into  our  political  system  and 
added  new  beauties  to  the  republican  character, 
once  more  refuted  the  odious  imputation,  that  re 
publics  are  ungrateful." 

By  the  death  of  Governor  Clinton,  in  February 
1828,  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  state  of  New  York.  The  republicans  of 
that  state  immediately  fixed  their  hopes  upon  Mr. 
Van  Buren  for  that  office,  and  yielding  to  their 
pressing  solicitations,  he  consented  to  become  a 
candidate.  The  election  occurred  in  November, 


320  THE  LIFE  OF 

at  the  same  time  with  the  choice  of  electors  of 
President  and  Vice  President.  Smith  Thompson, 
one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  was  the  leading  candidate  of  the 
opposition,  and  Solomon  Southwick  was  support 
ed  by  the  antimasons.  Mr.  Van  Buren  succeeded 
by  a  plurality  of  thirty  thousand  votes  over  the 
highest  opposing  candidate.* 

Mr.  Van  Buren,  having  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  entered  upon  the  du 
ties  of  his  office  as  Governor,  on  the  1st  of  Janu 
ary,  1829. 

His  message  to  the  Legislature,  transmitted  on 
the  6th  of  January,  is  a  document  which  displays 
the  usual  patriotism  and  ability  of  its  author,  and 
is  replete  with  the  most  valuable  information  and 
the  soundest  political  truth. 

After  alluding,  in  the  happiest  manner,  to  the 
distinguished  abilities  of  his  predecessor,  he  pro 
ceeds  to  lay  before  the  Legislature  the  general 
state  of  the  various  public  funds,  especially  those 
of  the  canal ;  he  throws  out  several  suggestions 
with  regard  to  internal  improvements,  but  recom 
mends  caution  in  the  adoption  of  new  schemes. 
He  says  the  most  important  business  of  the  session 
was  the  question  of  renewing  the  charters  of  the 
several  banks  in  the  state  ;  thirty-one  charters 
would  expire  in  the  course  of  four  years,  with  a 
capital  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  and  debts 

*  The  votes  were,  for  Mr.  Van  Buren,  136,794 ;  for  Thomp 
son,  106,444  ;  and  for  Southwick  33,315. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  321 

amounting  to  thirty  millions.  He  alludes  to  the 
difference  between  their  situation,  at  that  time, 
and  the  laying  of  the  foundation  of  the  banking 
system  anew  ;  and  says,  in  view  of  the  extent  of 
these  institutions  and  their  close  connection  with 
the  affairs  of  the  community,  that  "  to  dispense  with 
banks,  altogether,  is  an  idea  which  seems  to  have 
no  advocate  ;  to  make  ourselves  dependent  on 
those  established  by  federal  authority,  deserves 
none."  He  says  that  experience  is  against  banks 
owned  wholly  by  the  state,  and  that  to  make  stock 
holders  liable,  in  their  private  capacity,  throws 
the  stock  into  the  hands  of  irresponsible  persons  ; 
he  reprobates  the  practice  of  "  bonusses"  for  bank 
charters,  and  says,  that  compared  with  the  com 
munity,  the  stockholders  are  few,  and  hence  that 
all  legislative  measures  should  refer  exclusively  to 
the  safety  and  stability  of  the  institutions.  He 
finally  concludes  that  the  present  solvent  banks 
cannot  be  so  suddenly  closed,  without  a  violent 
disturbance  of  the  interests  of  the  public  ;  and  al 
ludes  to  "  a  sensible  and  apparently  well-consider 
ed  plan"  which  had  heen  submitted  to  him,  and 
which  proposed  "to  make  all  the  banks  responsi 
ble,  for  any  loss  the  public  may  sustain,  by  the  fail 
ure  of  any  one  or  more  of  them."  He  then  pre 
sents  a  brief  epitome  of  the  "  safety  fund  system," 
and  concludes  this  part  of  his  message  with  the  re 
mark,  that  "  the  interest  which  attaches  itself  to  the 
representative  character,  can  never  be  greater,  than 
when  the  fulfilment  of  the  trust  committed  to  the 
Representative,  may  bring  him  in  conflict  with 


322        LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

the  claims  of  the  great  monicd   interests  of  the 
country." 

On  the  26th  of  January,  1829,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
in  a  brief  message,  introduced  to  the  favorable  no 
tice  of  the  Legislature,  the  celebrated  "  safety  fund 
system."  This  plan  originated  with  the  Hon. 
Joshua  Forman,  and  was  by  him,  laid  before  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  It  was  somewhat  modified  by  the 
suggestion  of  the  latter,  and  finally  adopted  by  the 
Legislature.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  connection  with 
the  transaction  cannot  be  more  accurately  charac 
terized,  than  in  the  following  extract  from  the  let 
ter  heretofore  alluded  to,  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  II. 
Benton,  to  General  Davis,  of  Mississippi. 

"  Upon  his  (Mr.  Van  Buren's)  elevation  to  the  chief 
magistracy  of  the  state,  finding  the  system  of  banks  so  in 
corporated  with  the  business  and  interests  of  the  people, 
as  to  render  its  abolishment  impossible,  he  turned  his  at 
tention  to  its  improvement,  and  to  the  establishment  of 
such  guards  against  fraudulent,  or  even  unfortunate  bank 
ruptcy,  as  would  under  all  circumstances,  protect  the  hol 
ders  of  notes  against  loss.  The  safety  fund  system  was 
the  result  of  views  of  this  kind  ;  and  if  its  complete  suc 
cess  hitherto,  (for  no  bank  has  failed  under  it,)  and  the 
continued  support  and  confidence  of  the  representatives  of 
two  millions  of  people,  are  not  sufficient  to  attest  its  effi 
cacy,  there  is  one  consideration  at  least,  which  should 
operate  so  far  in  its  favor  as  to  save  it  from  the  sneers  of 
those  who  cannot  tell  what  the  safety  fund  system  is; 
and  that  is,  the  perfect  ease  and  composure  with  which 
the  whole  of  these  banks  rode  out  the  storm  of  Senatorial 
and  United  States  Bank  assault,  panic,  and  pressure,  up 
on  them  last^  winter.  This  consideration  should  save  Mr. 
Van  Buren  from  the  censure  of  some  people,  if  it  cannot 
attract  their  applause.  And  as  for  the  politics  of  the  safe 
ty  fund  banks,  it  has  been  recently,  and  authentically 
shown  that  a  vast  majority  of  them  are  under  the  control  of 
his  most  determined  and  active  political  opponents.'' 


CHAPTER    XXIT. 


MR.  VAN  BUR  EN  is  appointed  Secretary  of  State  of  the 
United  States.  Situation  of  uur  foreign  relations, 
especially  with  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Van  Bur  en's 
successful  administration  of  the  Department  of  for 
eign  Affairs.  Resigns  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  remained,  but  a  short  time,  in 
the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  state  of  New  York. 
On  the  12th  of  March  1829,  he  resigned  the  of 
fice  of  Governor,  in  consequence  of  his  appointment 
as  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States.  Of 
this  appointment,  General  Jackson  said,  in  his  let 
ter  to  the  republican  members  of  the  Legislature  of 
New  York,  in  February  1832:  "In  calling  him 
(Mr.  Van  Buren,)to  the  Department  of  State,  from 
the  exalted  station  he  then  occupied,  by  the  suf 
frages  of  the  people  of  his  native  state,  I  was  not 
influenced  more  by  his  acknowledged  talents  and 
public  services,  than  by  the  general  wish  and  ex 
pectation  of  the  republican  party  throughout  the 
union." 


324  THE  LIFE  OF 

Short,  as  was  his  continuance  in  the  office  of 
Governor  of  New  York,  he  left  the  impress  of  his 
genius  upon  her  institutions.  This  was  true,  espe 
cially,  in  regard  to  those  protective  restrictions  up 
on  the  system  of  banking  which  have,  since,  so 
completely  secured  the  community  from  losses  of 
that  kind.  The  splendid  talents  of  his  immediate 
predecessor  in  that  office,  had  given  to  it  a  dignity 
and  eclat,  which  no  successor  of  ordinary  resour 
ces  could  have  sustained.  But  the  genius  and  at 
tainments  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  suffered  no  dispar 
agement  in  such  palpable  comparison  with  his  il 
lustrious  predecessor.  His  executive  career,  though 
short,  was  brilliant  and  successful.  Upon  his  with 
drawal  from  the  office,  both  branches  of  the  Le 
gislature,  though  each  contained  opposite  partisans 
in  politics,  unanimously  passed  resolutions  expres 
sing  the  "  highest  respect  for  his  virtues  and  talents," 
and  "  their  earnest  wish  that  he  might  enjoy  a  full 
measure  of  happiness  and  prosperity,  in  the  new 
sphere  of  public  duty  to  wrhich  he  \vas  about  to  be 
removed." 

The  republican  members  of  the  Legislature  were 
still  more  emphatic  in  their  expressions  of  affec 
tionate  and  respectful  attachment.  On  the  eve  of 
his  departure,  they  presented  to  him  a  communi 
cation,  in  which  they  strongly  stated  "  their  attach 
ment  to  his  person,  their  respect  for  his  character, 
and  their  regret  at  the  separation  which  was  about 
to  take  place,"  and  tendered  to  him  their  thanks, 
"  for  the  numerous  and  important  services  which 
he  had  rendered  to  the  State,  particularly  in  sus- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  325 

taining  those  political  principles  which  they  believ 
ed  to  be  most  intimately  blended  with  its  highest 
and  dearest  interests." 

Mr.  Van  Buren  was  nominated,  as  Secretary 
of  state,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1829  ;  and  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  office  in  the  early  part  of 
April.  From  this  time  forth  he  has  been  in  stations 
so  conspicuous,  and  his  public  conduct  has  been 
the  subject  of  so  severe  a  scrutiny,  that  it  will  be 
unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  its  details  with  great 
minuteness. 

The  sphere  in  which  he  was  now  called  to  move, 
was  new  and  responsible  ;  but  his  long  service  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  his  careful 
observation  of  political  affairs  from  the  earliest 
period  of  his  life,  fitted  him  at  once,  to  assume  its 
duties.  In  the  sequel,  it  appeared  that  his  sound 
judgment,  his  political  information,  his  calm  tem 
perament  and  indefatigable  diligence,  enabled  him 
to  conduct,  on  the  most  successful  principles,  the 
whole  range  of  our  relations  with  foreign  govern 
ments,  and  thus,  by  his  new  station  at  the  seat  of 
government,  to  add  to  a  reputation  which  had  al 
ready  risen  above  detraction  and  envy. 

Our  foreign  relations  at  the  time  he  came  into 
office,  were  in  a  most  embarrassed  condition.  The 
diplomacy  of  the  former  administration  had  failed 
in  most  of  its  objects.  Negotiations  with  many  of 
the  powers  of  Europe  had  been  lingering  and  lan 
guishing,  for  many  years  ;  and  the  most  just  and 
obvious  claims  of  our  citizens  for  indemnifications, 
had  been  rejected  or  postponed.  The  preceding 
28 


326  THE  LIFE  OF 

administration  had,  indeed,  unsuccessfully  urged 
our  claims  upon  France ;  they  had  attempted,  but 
without  success,  to  open  the  Black  sea  to  our  com 
merce  ;  they  had  failed  to  form  a  treaty  with  Mex 
ico  ;  they  had  been  equally  unsuccessful  in  ob 
taining  from  Colombia,  such  a  reduction  of  their 
duties,  as  would  place  our  trade  upon  the  same 
footing  with  that  of  Great  Britain.  A  convention 
had,  it  is  true,  been  nearly  brought  to  a  close  with 
Denmark  and  with  Brazil ;  but  the  claims  of  our 
citizens  upon  Sweden  had  been  left  to  the  enter 
prise  of  the  agent  of  the  claimants,  and  to  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  Charge  d'Affaires,  who  had  received 
no  instruction  on  the  subject.  But  the  most  dis 
graceful  failure  in  diplomacy,  had  attended  the 
negotiations  with  Great  Britain,  in  regard  to  the 
colonial  trade. 

The  British  Government,  as  is  usual  with  gov 
ernments  that  have  colonies,  retained  the  absolute 
control  of  all  trade  with  the  British  West  Indies. 
She  had  always  refused  to  negotiate  with  any  for 
eign  power  in  regard  to  that  trade. 

In  the  convention  of  1815,  by  express  stipula 
tion,  the  commercial  provisions  in  the  treaty  did 
not  extend  to  the  British  possessions  in  the  West 
Indies  ;  and  the  British  government  adhered  to 
their  ancient  policy  of  regulating  this  trade  by  Or 
ders  in  Council.  American  produce  was  admit 
ted,  but  under  restrictions  which  greatly  impaired 
the  benefit  of  the  trade.  In  July  18^4,  Mr.  Rush, 
our  minister  in  England,  was  charged  with  the 
duty  of  attempting  some  negotiation,  favorable  to 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  337 

our  interests  on  this  point :  but  the  attempt  was 
unsuccessful.  On  the  5th  of  July  1825,  the  Brit 
ish  Parliament  passed  an  act  tendering  to  foreign 
powers  the  most  liberal  terms  of  reciprocal  inter 
course  with  her  colonies.  Certain  corresponding 
acts  were  required  to  be  done  on  our  part,  to  sig 
nify  an  acceptance  of  these  propositions.  Either 
from  a  want  of  information  with  respect  to  foreign 
affairs,  or  from  inattention  ;  or  from  the  hope  of 
extorting  by  diplomatic  skill,  still  more  favorable 
conditions,  our  government,  Mr.  Adams  being  Pre 
sident  and  Mr.  Cla^feecretary  of  State,  neglected 
to  accept  the  advantages  proposed  by  Great  Brit 
ain.  In  consequence  of  this  omission,  the  British 
government,  having  waited  for  our  compliance  more 
than  a  year,  in  July  1826,  by  an  Order  in  Council, 
revoked  the  terms  proposed,  and  interdicted  all 
trade  with  their  colonies  after  the  following  De 
cember.  The  bad  management  of  our  govern 
ment  was  then  seen  in  its  full  extent.  Not  long 
afterwards,  the  documents  connected  with  the 
transaction  were  called  for  and  published,  and  the 
public  voice  was  loud  in  reprobation  of  the  ad 
ministration.  Early  in  the  year  1826,  Mr.  Galla- 
tin  was  sent  out  with  excuses  for  neglecting  to 
comply  with  the  proposition  of  the  British  govern 
ment  ;  and  in  1827,  he  was  instructed  to  intercede 
for  the  same  terms  which  were  freely  offered  in 
1825.  The  attempt  failed.  Mr.  Barbour  succeed 
ed  him,  and  was  directed  to  sue,  again,  for  the 
same  privileges.  But  his  mission  was  also  vain, 
and  it  became  apparent,  that  the  British  govern- 


328  THE  LIFE  OF 

ment  were  determined  to  hold  no  further  negotia 
tion  with  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams,  in  re 
lation  to  this  matter. 

The  subject  was  brought,  very  fully,  before  the 
American  people,  and  it  pressed  heavily  upon  Mr. 
Adams  and  his  cabinet.  No  explanations  which  it 
was  in  their  power  to  offer,  could  conceal  from 
the  community,  the  fact,  that  this  valuable  branch 
of  trade  had  been  lost  by  a  pitiable  course  of  in 
discreet  diplomacy. 

Upon  the  accession  of  General  Jackson  to  the 
presidency,  and  of  Mr.  Van  juren  to  the  Depart 
ment  of  State,  the  character  of  our  intercourse 
with  foreign  nations  was  entirely  changed.  In 
stead  of  a  wretched  system  of  duplicity  and 
double-dealing,  derived  from  the  corruptions  of 
foreign  courts,  there  was  substituted  plain  and  man 
ly  dealing.  Nothing  was  attempted  by  indirect 
means  or  insincere  professions  ;  but  the  plain  com 
mon  sense  of  foreign  allies  was  appealed  to,  in  a 
tone  of  dignity,  firmness  and  candor,  which  show 
ed  at  once,  that  our  government  was  conscious  of 
its  rights,  and  neither  disposed  to  transcend  or  fall 
short  of  their  exact  limits.  Our  foreign  negotia 
tions  revived  ;  friendly  relations  were  renewed 
with  various  countries ;  and,  under  the  guidance 
of  our  single-minded  and  upright  President,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  was  enabled  to  turn  his  rare  abilities 
to  the  greatest  public  benefit. 

Our  claims  on  France  were  now,  after  a  period 
of  nearly  thirty  years,  first  recognized  and  put  in 
the  course  of  adjustment;  a  treaty  was  formed 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  829 

with  Mexico ;  the  Black  sea  was  opened  to  our 
commerce  ;  and  Colombia  remitted  the  discrimi 
nating  duties  which  had  been  a  source  of  contro 
versy.  The  conventions  with  Brazil  and  Den 
mark  for  seizures,  were  matured,  and  the  Swed 
ish  claims  safely  brought  home  to  the  claimants. 

But  the  most  splendid  results  were  derived  from 
the  negotiation  with  Great  Britain.  In  July  1829, 
Mr.  McLane  was  despatched,  as  minister  to  Eng 
land,  bearing  instructions  from  the  hand  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  who  had  then  hardly  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office.  The  clearness  and  strength, 
with  which,  under  these  instructions,  he  brought 
forth  the  claims  of  the  government,  resulted  in 
complete  success.  The  British  government  at 
once,  appreciated  the  force  of  the  considerations 
addressed  to  them,  and  recognized  the  spirit  of 
firmness  and  candor,  which  so  much  distinguished 
the  new  administration  from  its  predecessor.  The 
success  of  the  mission  was  complete  ;  an  arrange 
ment  was  formed  which  met  the  approbation  of 
our  government,  and  restored  to  our  citizens  those 
rights,  which,  through  the  indiscretion  of  Mr. 
Adams  and  Mr.  Clay,  had  been  for  a  time  sus 
pended. 

During  Mr.  Van  Buren's  continuance  in  the 
State  Department,  and  indeed,  within  the  few  first 
months  of  his  service,  some  of  the  most  impor 
tant  of  our  foreign  embassies  were  despatched  un 
der  his  direction.  Among  these  may  be  mention 
ed,  the  mission  of  Mr.  McLane  to  England,  of  Mr. 
Rives  to  France,  of  Mr.  Preble  to  the  Netherlands, 
28* 


330  THE   LIFE  OF 

and  ministers  to  Spain  and  Columbia.  In  short, 
the  supervision  of  a  master-spirit  appeared  in 
every  branch  of  our  foreign  relations  ;  and  a  series 
of  diplomatic  successes  were  effected,  unrivalled 
in  their  number  and  importance  in  any  other  equal 
period  of  time,  since  the  formation  of  our  govern 
ment.  It  was  universally  conceded,  that  more 
distinguished  ability  had  never  been  displayed  in 
the  Department  of  State,  since  the  period  when  it 
was  under  the  direction  of  Jefferson. 

But  the  other  departments  of  the  government 
did  not  proceed  with  equal  success.  Difficulties 
arose  in  the  cabinet,  and  party  spirit  assailed  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  in  particular,  with  its  utmost  violence. 
He  was  obviously  ascending,  with  rapid  strides,  to 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  political  distinction  ;  and 
all  the  artifices  of  envy  and  political  rivalry,  were 
put  in  requisition  to  impede  his  progress.  The 
differences  of  opinion  between  members  of  the 
cabinet,  which  he  had  exerted  his  utmost  efforts  to 
allay  and  remove,  were  falsely  ascribed  to  his 
agency.  In  the  end,  it  appeared  that  his  judg 
ment,  courtesy,  and  great  knowledge  of  the  hu 
man  heart,  were  not  sufficient,  any  longer,  to  post 
pone  a  rupture.  His  last  effort  was,  by  a  magnan 
imous  self-sacrifice,  to  attempt  the  removal  of  dif 
ficulties  which  were  to  be  ascribed  to  the  jealousy  of 
rival  candidates  for  public  favor;  and  on  the  llth 
day  of  April,  1831,  he  communicated  to  the  Presi 
dent,  his  determination  to  withdraw  from  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State,  though  he  continued  to  dis 
charge  its  duties  until  the  following  month  of  June. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  331 

For  this  act  of  self-denying  patriotism,  he  re 
ceived  the  most  virulent  and  illiberal  abuse  from 
his  political  enemies.  Unable  to  appreciate  the 
pure  and  patriotic  motives  which  could  lead  the 
possessor  of  so  advantageous  a  situation,  to  surren 
der  the  influence  and  prospects  which  belong  to  it, 
they  searched  for  plausible  causes,  and  failing  to 
find  them,  resorted  to  the  vilest  fabrications.  This 
charge  may  appear  severe,  but  it  is  made  in  the 
words  of  truth,  nor  has  any  thing  been  detected  or 
disclosed,  from  that  time  to  the  present,  to  throw 
the  slightest  cloud  over  the  high-minded  and  disin 
terested  conduct  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  When  the 
perversions  of  party  feeling  and  the  mists  of  per 
sonal  prejudice  shall  have  been  removed,  this  illus 
trious  act  of  self-devotion  to  the  best  interests  of 
his  country,  will  be  conspicuous  amid  the  manifold 
merits  of  a  public  life,  throughout  distinguished  for 
magnanimity  and  virtue. 


CHAPTER     XXIII. 


MR.  VAN  BUREN  is  nominated  minister  to  the  Court  of 
St.  James.  The  rejection  of  his  nomination  by  the 
Senate.  Extract  from  his  instructions  to  Mr.  Mc- 
Lane.  Correspondence  of  the  republican  members  of 
the  Legislature  of  New  York,  with  the  President,  on 
the  rejection  of  Mr.  Van  Bur  en. 

The  unimpaired  confidence  of  General  Jackson, 
in  the  abilities  and  integrity  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was 
manifested,  immediately  upon  his  witdrawal  from 
the  Department  of  State,  by  pressing  upon  his  ac 
ceptance  the  mission  to  the  court  of  St.  James. 
Mr.  McLane  had  already,  by  his  own  request  re 
ceived  leave  to  return  home,  the  leading  object  of 
his  mission  having  been  accomplished.  In  urging 
the  acceptance  of  this  appointment,  the  President 
had  in  view  the  adjustment  of  a  matter  of  the  great 
est  public  interest.  The  delicate  questions  respect 
ing  blockades,  the  impressment  of  seamen,  and  the 
right  of  search,  which  occasioned  the  late  war 


334  THE  LIFE  OF 

with  Great  Britain,  were  not  adjusted  by  the  trea 
ty  of  Ghent.  The  time  appeared  favorable  for 
calling  the  attention  of  Great  Britain  to  these  top 
ics  ;  and  the  President  was  anxious  to  depute  upon 
this  difficult  negotiation,  a  diplomatic  agent  of  such 
dignity  of  character  at  home,  and  eminence  abroad, 
as  would  evince  the  deep  importance  he  attached 
to  the  objects  of  the  mission.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  great 
experience  in  political  affairs,  his  intimate  knowl 
edge  of  all  our  foreign  relations,  his  sagacity,  firm 
ness,  and  self-possession  ;  his  high  sense  of  nation 
al  honor,  and  his  well-tried  patriotism,  combined 
to  designate  him  as  the  most  proper  person  to  man 
age  these  important  interests. 

Contrary  to  the  earnest  advice  of  his  personal 
and  political  friends,  who  were  anxious  to  retain 
him  in  the  country,  at  that  crisis,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
yielded  to  the  importunity  of  the  President,  and 
embarked  for  England.  He  arrived  there,  in  Sep 
tember  1831  ;  and  was  received,  with  distinguish 
ed  favor,  by  the  court  of  St.  James. 

Whether  success  would  have  crowned  the  ef 
forts  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  it  is  impossible  to  say ;  as 
in  the  midst  of  a  negotiation,  commenced  under 
favorable  auspices,  he  was  recalled  by  the  most 
reckless  and  unexampled  act  of  political  proscrip 
tion,  to  be  found  in  history.  His  nomination  was 
submitted  to  the  Senate,  on  th3  7th  of  January 
1832  ;  and  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  reject 
ed,  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice  President. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  review  the  grounds  of 
this  most  reprehensible  and  factious  act,  since  it  has 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  335 

received  the  emphatic  condemnation  of  the  Amer 
ican  people. 

Three  rival  candidates  for  the  Presidency,  then 
held  seats  in  the  Senate.  When  General  Jack 
son  was  nominated,  by  the  Legislature  of  Tennes 
see,  for  that  high  office,  and  had  determined  to 
yield  to  the  wishes  of  his  friends  in  becoming  a 
candidate,  he  immediately  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  to  avoid  any  imputa 
tion  of  exerting  his  official  influence  in  his  own  be 
half.  Not  so  the  famous  triumvirate  who  proscri 
bed  a  rival,  in  Mr.  Van  Buren.  Representing  the 
conflicting  interests  of  the  north,  the  south,  and  the 
west ;  opposed  to  each  other  on  many  of  the  car 
dinal  principles  of  the  government ;  violent  antago 
nists  in  personal  and  political  matters  ;  they  agreed 
and  co-operated,  only,  in  the  single  act,  of  attempt 
ing  to  crush  a  dreaded  rival.  His  rapid  progress 
in  the  favor  of  the  public  alarmed  them :  and  it 
was  their  malignant,  but  vain  hope,  by  a  single  act 
of  violence,  to  hurl  him  from  his  lofty  station  and 
plunge  him  into  obscurity. 

The  pretence  for  this  high  handed  measure,  so 
dishonorable  to  its  participators,  so  injurious  to  the 
public  interests,  and  so  unjust  to  the  individual  con 
cerned,  was  the  tenor  of  his  instructions  to  Mr. 
McLane,  with  regard  to  the  West  India  trade. 
The  state  of  that  negotiation,  at  the  time  when  Mr. 
Van  Buren  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  hes 
been  briefly  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  chapter. 
The  vacillating,  time  serving,  and  indiscreet  policy 
of  the  former  administration,  had  resulted  im  an 


336  THE  LIFE  OB" 

entire  loss  of  this  important  branch  of  trade,  and 
had  so  disgusted  the  British  government,  that  they 
had  refused  even  to  entertain  further  negotiation. 
The  policy  of  that  administration  had  been  loudly 
condemned  by  the  American  people  ;  and  those 
who  were  responsible  for  it,  were  hurled  from  pow 
er,  by  the  public  voice.  Mr,  Van  Bui  en,  in  enter 
ing  upon  the  charge  of  our  foreign  relations,  set 
about  endeavoring  to  regain  this  important  branch 
of  commerce,  Abandoning  the  management  and 
duplicity  which  had  hitherto  characterized  our  for 
eign  intercourse  on  this  point,  he  met  the  question 
with  the  plainness  of  one  who  was  conscious  he 
was  on  the  right  ground,  and  the  firmness  of  one 
who  was  determined  to  maintain  it.  He  uttered 
the  voice  of  the  American  people,  in  avowing  his 
disapprobation  of  the  course  before  pursued  ;  and 
frankly  assured  our  ally,  that  the  administration  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  would  not  be  guided  by 
a  policy  so  contracted  and  illiberal. 

His  instructions  on  this  point,  which  were  the 
ostensible  reasons  for  rejecting  his  nomination,  are 
in  the  following  words  : 

"  Such  is  the  present  state  of  our  commercial  relations 
with  the  British  colonies  ;  and  such  the  steps  by  which 
we  have  arived  at  it.  In  reviewing  the  events  which 
have  preceded,  and  more  or  less  contributed  to,  a  result  so 
much  to  be  regretted,  there  will  be  found  three  grounds 
upon  which  we  are  most  assailable  ;  1st,  in  our  too  long 
and  too  tenaciously  resisting  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to 
impose  protecting  duties  in  her  colonies  ;"  2nd,  &c. 

"  The  opportunities  which  you  have  derived  from  a 
participation  in  our  public  councils,  as  well  as  other  sour 
ces  of  information,  will  enable  you  to  speak  with  conli- 
dedce,  (as  far  as  you  may  deem  it  proper  and  useful  sc  to 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  337 

do,)  of  ihe  respective  parts  taken  by  those  to  whom  the 
administration  of  this  government  is  now  committed,  in 
relation  to  the  course  heretofore  pursued  upon  the  subject 
of  the  colonial  trade.  Their  views  upon  that  point  have 
been  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
the  councils  to  which  your  conduct  is  now  directed  are  the 
result  of  the  judgment  expressed  by  the  only  earthly  tribu 
nal  to  which  the  latp  administration  was  amenable  for  its 
acts.  It  should  be  sufficient  that  the  claims  set  up  by 
them,  and  which  caused  the  interruption  of  the  trade  in 
question,  have  been  explicitly  abandoned  by  those  who 
first  asserted  them,  and  are  not  revived  by  their  succes 
sors.  If  Great  Britain  deems  it  adverse  to  her  interests  to 
allow  us  to  participate  in  ihe  trade  with  her  colonies,  and 
finds  nothing  in  the  extension  of  it  to  others  to  induce 
her  to  apply  the  same  rule  to  us,  she  will,  we  hope,  be 
sensible  of  the  propriety  of  placing  her  refusal  on  those 
grounds.  To  set  up  the  acts  of  the  late  administration  as 
the  cause  of  forfeiture  of  privileges  which  would  other 
wise  be  extended  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
would,  under  existing  circumstances,  be  unjust  in  itself, 
and  could  not  fail  to  excite  their  deepest  sensibility.  The 
tone  of  feeling  which  a  course  so  unwise  and  untenable  is 
calculated  to  produce,  would  doubtless  be  aggravated  by 
the  consciousness  that  Great  Britain  has,  by  order  in  coun 
cil,  opened  her  colonial  ports  to  Russia  and  France,  not 
withstanding  a  similar  omission  on  their  part  to  accept 
the  terms  offered  by  the  act  of  July,  1835.  You  cannot 
press  this  view  of  the  subject  too  earnestly  upon  the  con 
sideration  of  the  British  Ministry.  It  has  bearings  and 
relations  that  reach  beyond  the  immediate  question  under 
discussion. 

"I  will  add  nothing  as  to  the  impropriety  of  suffering 
any  feelings,  that  find  their  origin  in  the  past  pretensions 
of  this  government,  to  have  an  adverse  influence  upon  the 
present  conduct  of  Great  Britain." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  examine  these  instructions 
in  detail ;  they  may  be  left,  without  comment,  to 
the  judgment  of  the  plainest  understanding.  They 
are  marked  by  atone  of  blunt  common  sense  and 
patriotism,  which  cannot  be  perverted  or  miscon- 
29 


338  THE  LIFE  OF 

structed.  There  is  not  the  slightest  trace  of  a 
cringing  or  unpatriotic  sentiment,  to  be  found  in 
them.  The  true  ground  of  the  odium,  entertained 
against  them  and  their  author,  was,  that  they  had 
been  successful.  The  former  administration  had 
disgracefully  failed  in  the  negotiation  ;  Mr.  Van 
Buren  had  conducted  it  with  complete  success.  It 
was  desirable,  in  the  eyes  of  his  factious  opponents, 
to  cloud  the  brilliancy  of  this  success,  and  to  sully, 
if  possible,  the  splendor  of  his  well  earned  fame. 
It  was  desirable,  if  possible,  not  only  to  plunge 
him  into  mortifying  retirement,  but  to  aim  a  blow 
at  the  feelings  and  policy  of  the  President;  to  dis 
grace  his  previous  successful  negotiations,  and 
check  the  expected  consummation  of  those  he  was 
then  so  much  intent  on  bringing  to  a  conclusion, 
In  the  latter  object  they  succeeded.  They  post 
poned  the  adjustment  of  important  rights,  at  a 
moment  peculiarly  favorable  for  obtaining  their 
acknowledgement ;  they  were  not  equally  success 
ful  in  crushing  their  rival,  but  their  violent  act  re 
coiled  upon  themselves.  . 

The  palpable  injustice  of  rejecting  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren  is  rendered  more  conspicuous,  by  the  fact  that 
these  very  instructions  had  previously  been  laid  be 
fore  the  Senate,  and  had  excited  no  remark  ;  that 
the  minister  who  was  nominated  and  acted  under 
them,  had  been  approved  and  confirmed  by  the 
same  Senate  ;  that  the  treaty  which  was  formed  by 
that  minister,  under  these  very  directions,  had  also 
received  the  sanction  of  the  Senate,  and  that,  so 
far  from  reprehending  the  foreign  functionary  for 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  339 

acting  in  compliance  with  these  directions,  he  had 
upon  his  return  from  England,  been  confirmed  in 
his  nomination  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

Why  were  not  objections  raised  to  these  instruc 
tions  at  an  early  period  ?  Why  was  the  minister 
approved  who  acted  under  them  ?  Why  was  the 
treaty  accepted  which  was  formed  in  conformity 
to  them  ?  These  questions  cannot  be  answered 
without  clearly  disclosing  the  fact,  that  neither  pa-- 
triotism,  nor  a  sense  of  duty,  nor  a  tender  regard 
for  the  public  weal,  were  the  true  causes  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  rejection.  It  is  too  clearly  apparent 
that  political  hate  and  the  base  design  to  traduce 
an  absent  rival,  were  the  real  grounds  of  the  harsh 
and  unprecedented  rejection  of  the  nominee. 

In  this  light  it  was  viewed  by  the  great  body  of 
the  American  people.  A  murmur  of  indignation 
arose  from  every  quarter  of  the  Union;  public 
meetings  were  held,  resolutions  adopted,  and  de 
nunciations  leveled  against  this  high  handed  prosti 
tution  of  the  Senatorial  prerogative,  to  the  pur 
poses  of  political  hatred  and  personal  ambition. 

The  republican  members  of  the  Legislature  of 
New  York  addressed  a  letter  to  the  President,  ex 
pressing  in  the  strongest  language,  their  indignation 
at  the  proscriptive  act  of  the  Senate,  and  their  high 
respect  for  the  public  and  private  character  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  The  following  extracts  from  the  re 
ply  of  the  President,  present  a  complete  vindica 
tion  of  his  character,  in  regard  to  this  matter,  from 
the  lips  of  one,  who,  during  a  long  life,  has  never 


340  THE  LIFF  OF 

been  known  to  sacrifice  the  principles  of  truth  to 
the  strongest  personal  interests  or  attachments. 

"I  owe  it  to  the  late  Secretary  of  State,  to  myself,  and 
to  the  American  people,  on  this  occasion  to  state,  that  as 
far  as  is  known  to  me,  he  had  no  participation  whatever 
in  the  occurrences  relative  to  myself  and  the  second  offi 
cer  of  the  government,  or  in  the  dissolution  of  the  late 
cabinet ;  and  that  there  is  no  ground  for  imputing  to  him 
the  having  advised  those  removals  from  office  which,  in 
the  discharge  of  my  constitutional  functions,  it  was  deem 
ed  proper  to  make.  During  his  continuance  in  the  cabi 
net,  his  exertions  were  directed  to  produce  harmony  among 
its  members ;  and  he  uniformly  endeavored  to  sustain  his 
colleagues.  His  final  resignation  was  a  sacrifice  of  offi 
cial  station  to  what  he  deemed  the  best  interests  of  the 
country. 

"  Mr.  McLane,  our  then  minister  at  London,  having 
previously  asked  permission  to  return,  it  was  my  own 
anxious  desire  to  commit  the  important  points  remaining 
open  in  our  relations  with  Great  Britain,  to  a  successor 
in  whose  peculiar  fitness  and  capacity  I  had  equal  confi 
dence  ;  and  to  my  selection,  Mr.  VanBuren  yielded  a  re 
luctant  assent.  In  urging  upon  him  that  sacrifice,  I  did 
not  doubt  that  I  was  doing  the  best  for  the  country',  and 
acting  in  coincidence  with  the  public  wish  ;  and  it  cer 
tainly  could  not  have  been  anticipated  that,  in  the  manner 
of  successfully  conducting  and  terminating  an  important 
and  complex  negotiation  which  had  previously  received 
the  sanction  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  there  would  have 
been  found  motives  for  embarrassing  the  executive  action 
and  for  interrupting  an  important  foreign  negotiation. 

"  I  can  never  be  led  to  doubt,  that,  in  the  instructions 
under  which  that  negotiation  relative  to  the  trade  with 
the  British  West  Indies  was  conducted  and  successfully 
concluded,  the  people  of  the  United  States  will  find  noth 
ing  either  derogatory  to  the  national  dignity  and  honor, 
or  improper  for  such  an  occasion, 

"  Those  parts  of  the  instructions  which  have  been  used 
to  justify  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  nomination  by 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  proceeded  from  my  own 
suggestion  ;  were  the  result  of  my  own  deliberate  inves 
tigation  and  reflection  ;  and  now,  as  when  they  were  dic 
tated,  appear  to  me  to  be  entirely  proper  and  consonant 
to  my  public  duty. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  341 

a  I  feel,  gentlemen,  that  I  am  incapable  of  tarnishing 
the  pride  or  dignity  of  that  country  whose  glory,  both  in 
the  field  and  in  the  civil  administration,  it  has  been  my 
object  to  elevate  ;  and  1  feel  assured  that  the  exalted  atti 
tude  which  the  American  people  maintain  abroad,  and 
the  prosperity  with  which  they  are  blessed  at  home,  fully 
attest  that  their  honor  and  happiness  have  been  unsullied 
in  my  hands." 

The  rejection  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  the  first,  in 
a  long  series  of  factious  measures,  which  have  un 
fortunately  found  support  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  which  terminated  in  the  uncon 
stitutional  denunciation  of  the  President  himself. 
These  acts,  into  which  one  important  department 
of  the  government  has  been  hurried,  by  a  coalition 
whose  only  bond  of  union,  and  apparently  whose 
only  rule  of  action,  is  hatred  to  the  President  and 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  have  shaken  the  confidence  of  the 
community  in  that  provision  of  our  constitution, 
which  renders  any  portion  of  the  public  servants 
so  long  independent  of  the  will  of  their  masters, 
the  people. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Vice  Presidency 
of  the  United  States.  His  election  to  that  office.  Hit 
sentiments  on  the  interference  of  the  General  Govern 
ment  and  of  the  free  states,  with  the  question  of 
slavery. 

When  some  one,  in  the  presence  of  Fouche,  de 
nounced  the  execution  of  the  Duke  D'Enghein  as  a 
guilty  act  of  Napoleon  :  "  Nay  sir,"  said  that  arch 
politician,  "  it  was  worse,  it  was  a  gross  political 
blunder  !"  Both  censures  apply  to  the  rejection  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
It  was  a  most  unjust  and  unwarrantable  act,  and  a 
gross  political  blunder.  It  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  American  people,  the  rebuke  which  its 
enormity  merited. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  1832,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  the  Vice  Presidency 
by  a  convention  of  the  democracy  of  the  Union 


344  THE  LIFE  OF 

assembled  at  Baltimore,  and  at  the  same  time  with 
the  re-nomination  of  General  Jackson  to  the  Pres 
idency.  The  nomination  was  received  with  accla 
mation  by  the  republican  party,  throughout  the  Un 
ion.  In  the  election  which  succeeded,  the  candi 
dates  were  successful.  Of  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  electoral  votes,  General  Jackson  received  two 
hundred  and  nineteen,  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  one 
hundred  and  eighty-nine.  Thirty  electoral  votes 
in  Pennsylvania,  which  were  given  for  General 
Jackson  as  President,  were  given  for  William  Wil- 
kins  as  Vice  President. 

History  rarely  presents  so  splendid  an  example 
of  retributive  justice,  as  appears  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Vice  Presidency.  Him 
whom  the  Senate  had  adjudged  unfit  to  represent 
the  nation  in  a  foreign  court,  the  sovereign  people 
honored  with  the  second  office  in  the  government. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  indeed  re-called ;  not  however 
to  obscurity  and  disgrace,  as  his  enemies  had  hop 
ed,  but  to  the  affectionate  hearts  of  his  country 
men,  to  be  raised,  by  them,  to  the  lofty  station  oc 
cupied  by  him  whose  especial  vengeance  had  been 
wreaked  upon  his  rival ;  to  preside  over  that  very 
body  who  had  sought,  in  his  absence  to  tarnish  his 
honor.  How  complete  the  triumph !  How  just 
the  retribution  !  It  realized  the  ideal  standard  of 
poetic  justice.  It  rebuked  a  faction,  and  reward 
ed,  according  to  his  deserts,  a  patriot ! 

Mr.  Van  Buren  was  inaugurated,  as  Vice  Presi 
dent,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1833.  The  first  exer 
cise  of  his  duties  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate, 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  345 

was  at  the  session  of  Congress  near  the  close  of 
that  year. 

In  that  capacity,  he  has  had  the  good  fortune 
to  escape  the  censure  of  all  parties.  Since  his 
election  to  the  Vice  Presidency,  his  opinions  have 
been  publicly  declared  on  two  subjects  of  consid 
erable  interest.  One  of  these  was  the  question  of 
chartering  a  national  bank  in  New  York  with  such 
restrictions  in  its  charter  as  to  remove  objections 
which  are  made  to  the  present  bank.  His  decid 
ed  disapprobation  of  this  measure  was  expressed 
in  his  letter  to  a  friend  already  embodied  in  the 
present  work. 

The  other  subject  is  the  right  of  interference 
with  the  existence  of  slavery,  by  the  General 
Government,  or  by  the  people  of  the  non -slave 
holding  states.  The  following  documents  exhibit 
the  sentiments  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  this  question. 
The  first  is  a  letter  addressed  by  him,  to  Mr.  Sam 
uel  Gwin  of  Mississippi,  and  subsequently  publish 
ed  in  the  Richmond  Enquirer. 

WASHINGTON,  July  ]  1,  1834. 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  I  owe  you  an  apology  for  not  having  soon 
er  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  your  obliging  letter  of 
26th  May.  My  opinions  on  the  subject  of  the  power  of 
Congress  over  slave  property  in  the  Southern  States,  are 
so  well  understood  by  my  friends,  that  I  arn  surprized  that 
an  attempt  to  impose  upon  the  public  respecting  them 
should  be  hazarded. 

"  The  subject  is,  in  my  judgment,  exclusively  under 
the  control  of  the  state  governments ;  and  I  am  not  ap 
prised,  nor  do  I  believe  that  a  contrary  opinion,  to  an  ex 
tent  deserving  consideration,  is  entertained  in  any  part  of 
the  United  States.  The  charge,  therefore,  to  which  you 
have  had  the  goodness  to  call  my  attention,  that  I  'amiu 


346  THE  LIFE  OF 

favor  of  an  interference  by  Congress,  in  manumitting  your 
slave  property,'  is  destitute  of  foundation:  so  far  from  it, 
I  do  not  see  on  what  authority  the  General  Government 
could  interfere,  without  a  change  of  the  constitution, 
even  at  the  instance  of  either  or  of  all  the  slave  holding 
States. 

With  great  respect,  and  regard, 

1  am,  dear  sir,  very  truly,  yours, 

M.   VAN  BUREN. 
To  SAMUEL  GWIN,  ESQ,  Clinton,  Mississippi." 

The  following  letter  relating  to  the  same  sub 
ject  was  addressed  to  a  gentleman  in  Augusta, 
Georgia,  at  a  moment  when  the  people  of  the 
slave  holding  states  were  in  a  high  degree  excited 
at  the  prodeedings  of  anti-slavery  associations  at 
the  North. 


"  OWASCO,  Sept.  10,  1835. 

"Mv  DEAR  SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  22d  ult.  met  me  at 
this  place,  on  my  return  from  the  Falls,  and  I  lose  no  time 
in  replying  to  that  part  of  it  which  relates  to  the  continu 
ed  attempts  to  prejudice  my  friends,  as  well  as  myself,  in 
the  estimation  of  the  South  in  respect  to  the  slave  ques 
tion. 

"  It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  there  should  be  found, 
on  the  part  of  any,  inducements  sufficiently  strong  to  in 
crease  an  excitement,  already  so  alarming,  by  a  resort  to 
imputations,  in  the  truth  of  which  no  ingenuous  mind 
can  place  the  slightest  confidence.  The  allegations 
which  attribute  to  me  views  and  opinions  that  are  so  just 
ly  obnoxious  to  the  slave-holding  states,  are  made  in  the 
face  of  the  most  explicit  declarations  on  my  part,  denying 
all  authority  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Government  to 
interfere  in  the  matter — against  the  propriety  of  agitating 
the  question  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  the  ab 
sence  of  a  single  fact,  giving  the  least  countenance  to  the 
unfounded  imputations.  I  should  poorly  requite  the  can 
dor  with  which  I  have  hitherto  been  treated  by  the  great 
mass  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  the  south,  were  I  to  allow 
myself  to  apprehend  that  those  who  would  otherwise  be 
disposed  to  give  me  their  confidence,  could,  under  such 


MARTIN  VAN  BURN.  347 

circumstances,  suffer  me  to  be  prejudiced  in  their  opinion, 
by  the  unsupported  assertions  of  my  enemies,  however 
reckless  or  vehemently  persisted  in.  Were  these  fabrica 
tions,  therefore,  designed  to  affect  me  only,  I  should  not 
hesitate  to  leave  the  matter  as  it  stands  to  the  spontane 
ous  action  of  my  countrymen.  But  when  it  is  intended 
to  reach,  in  this  way,  those  who  honor  me  with  their 
friendship,  I  do  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  withhold  any 
correction  that  may,  by  possibility,  be  useful  to  them. 
With  this  view  I  send  you  the  enclosed  proceedings  of 
the  citizens  of  Albany  upon  the  subject,  and  authorize 
you  to  say,  that  I  concur  fully  in  the  sentiments  they 
advance.  1  was  absent  from  the  city  at  the  time  the 
meeting  was  held,  but  took  an  early  occasion  to  advise  its 
call,  and  to  encourage  the  attempt  to  make  it,  what  it  has 
been,  a  meeting  of  the  people,  without  reference  to  their 
sentiments  on  any  other  subject  than  that  which  was  dis 
cussed  before  it.  Connected  with  its  proceedings  are  to 
be  found  the  names  of  our  principal  state  officers,  execu 
tive  and  judicial,  including  the  Governor  of  our  state, 
with  an  array  of  private  citizens  which  for  personal 
worth  and  weight  of  character,  has  never,  to  my  knowl 
edge,  been  excelled  at  any  previous  meeting. 

u  It  would  be  presumption  in  me  to  add  any  assurances 
of  my  own,  as  to  the  sincerity  with  which  the  sentiments 
they  express  are  entertained,  or  of  their  disposition  to 
make  them  effectual  upon  the  important  subject  to  which 
they  relate. 

"  May  we  not,  then,  hope  that  the  proofs  of  an  affec 
tionate  and  just  spirit  towards  the  rights  and  interests  of 
the  South,  which  have  been  brought  out  by  this  hitherto 
threatening  excitement,  will  have  the  effect,  in  future,  to 
remove  all  unfounded  impressions,  and  to  put  an  end  to 
every  feeling  and  prejudice  inconsistent  with  the  princi 
ples  upon  which  the  Union  was  founded  ? 

Earnestly  cherishing  this  pleasing  anticipation, 

I  am,  dear  sir,  very  truly,  your  friend  and  ob't  serv't, 

M.  VAN  BUREN." 


The  leading  resolutions  adopted  by  the  meeting 
alluded  to  in  the  above  letter,  are  condensed  in  the 
following  reply  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  certain  gen 
tlemen  in  North  Carolina.  The  correspondence 


348  THE  LIFE  OF 

has  transpired   since  the  publication  of  the   first 
edition  of  this  volume. 


His  Excellency  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 
"DEAR  SIR:  A  portion  of  your  fellow-citizens  in  this 
section,  feeling  a  deep  anxiety  as  to  your  views  on  a  topic 
which  most  vitally  affects  our  immediate  welfare  and 
happiness,  have  thought  proper  to  propose  to  you,  the  fol 
lowing  interrogatory,  to  which  we  wish  an  explicit  an 
swer. 

"Do  you,  or  do  you  not  believe  that  Congress  has  the 
constitutional  power,  to  interfere  with,  or  abolish,  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia? 

"  The  conspicuous  situation  in  which  you  are  placed, 
and  the  importance  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  your 
views  on  this  interesting  topic,  will,  we  hope,  be  sufficient 
apology  for  the  liberty  we  have  taken. 

(Signed,)  JUNIUS  AMIS, 

ISAAC  HALL, 
JOHN  WALL, 
C.  YELLOWBY, 
SAML.  B.  SPIRRILL, 
JAS.  W.  PUIZINN. 
JACKSON,  February  23,  1836." 

MR.  VAN  BUREN'S  REPLY. 

u  WASHINGTON,  March  6,  1836. 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re 
ceipt  of  your  letter  apprizing  me  of  the  deep  anxiety  which 
is  felt  by  a  portion  of  your  fellow-citizens,  as  to  my  views 
upon  a  topic  vitally  affecting  their  immediate  welfare  and 
happiness,  and  of  the  importance  of  their  being  possessed 
of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  them;  and  asking  me  to  say, 
whether  I  do  or  do  not  believe  that  Congress  has  the  con 
stitutional  power  to  interfere  with,  or  abolish  slavery  in 
the  District  of  Columbia? 

"I  am  not  only  willing,  but  desirous,  gentlemen,  that 
you  should  have  the  most  thorough  knowledge  of  my 
views  and  feelings  upon  the  delicate  and  interesting  sub 
ject  with  which  your  question  is  connected  ;  and  I  shall 
endeavor  to  acquaint  you  with  them  in  the  fullest  manner 
in  my  power. 

"Not  having,  heretofore,  had  the  honor  of  being  in  po 
litical  communication  with  you,  1  am  not  advised  whether 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  3491 

the  sentiments  relating  to  it,  which  have  been  avowed  by 
myself  and  by  my  authority,  within  the  last  two  years, 
have  come  to  your  knowledge.  I  deem  it,  therefore,  prop 
er,  to  furnish  you  with  the  substance  of  them,  before  I 
reply  to  your  more  specific  inquiry.  The  avowals  to  which 
I  refer,  were — 

"1st.  An  opinion  that  Congress  has  no  right  to  inter 
fere  in  any  manner,  or  to  any  extent,  with  the  subject  of 
slavery  in  the  States; 

"2d.  Against  the  propriety  of  their  doing  so  in  the 
District  of  Columbia;  and 

"3d.  The  statement  of  my  full  concurrence  in  the  sen 
timents  expressed  by  the  citizens  of  Albany,  in  public 
meeting,  the  most  important  of  which  are  as  follows,  viz  : 
'  That  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  carries  with 
it  an  adjustment  of  all  questions  involved  in  the  deliber 
ations  which  led  to  its  adoption,  and  that  the  compromise 
of  interests  in  which  it  was  founded,  is  binding  in  honor 
and  good  faith,  independently  of  the  force  of  agreement, 
on  all  who  live  under  its  protection  and  participate  in  the 
benefits  of  which  it  is  the  source  :'  '  That  the  relation  of 
master  and  slave  is  a  matter  exclusively  belonging  to  the 
people  of  each  State,  within  its  own  boundary,  and  that 
any  attempt  by  the  Government  or  people  of  any  other 
State,  or  by  the  General  Government,  to  interfere  with  or 
disturb  it,  would  violate  the  spirit  of  that  compromise 
which  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  federal  compact :'  '  That 
we  can  only  hope  to  maintain  the  Union  of  the  States 
by  abstaining  from  all  interference  withthe  laws,  domes 
tic  policy,  and  peculiar  interests  cf  every  other  State:' 
'  That  all  such  interference  which  tends  to  alienate  one 
portion  of  our  countrymen  from  the  rest,  deserves  to  be 
frowned  upon  with  indignation  by  all  who  cherish  the 
principles  of  our  revolutionarv  fathers,  and  who  desire  to 
preserve  the  constitution  by  tne  exercise  of  that  spirit  of 
amity  which  animated  its  framers  :'  'That  they  depre 
cated  the  conduct  of  those  who  are  attempting  to  coerce- 
their  brethren  in  other  States  into  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
by  appeals  to  the  fears  of  the  master  and  to  the  passions 
of  the  slave ;  and  that  they  could  not  but  consider  them 
as  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  and  would,  by  all  con 
stitutional  means,  exert  their  influence  to  arrest  the  pro 
gress  of  such  measures  :'  '  That  whilst  they  would 
maintain  inviolate  the  liberty  of  speech  and  the  freedom 
of  the  press,  they  considered  discussions,  which,  from 
their  nature,  tend  to  inflame  the  public  mind  and  put  ia 
30 


350  THE  LIFE  OF 

jeopardy  the  lives  and  property  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
at  war  with  every  rule  of  moral  duty,  and  every  sugges 
tion  of  humanity,  and  would  he  constrained,  moreover,  to 
regard  those,  who,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  their  perni 
cious  tendency,  persist  in  carrying  them  on,  as  disloyal  to 
the  Union:'  'That  the  people  of  the  south  would  do 
great  injustice  if  they  allow  themselves  to  believe,  that 
the  few  who  are  interfering  with  the  question  of  slavery, 
are  acting  in  accordance  with  the  sentiments  of  the  north 
upon  the  subject;'  and  finally,  'that  they  made  these 
declarations  to  their  southern  brethren  in  the  same  spirit 
of  amity  which  bound  together  their  fathers  and  ours, 
during  a  long  and  eventful  struggle  for  independence  ; 
and  that  they  did,  in  full  remembrance  of  that  common 
association,  plight  to  them  their  faith  to  maintain  in  prac 
tice,  as  far  as  lies  in  their  power,  what  they  had  thus  sol 
emnly  declared.' 

"  These  views,  thus  expressed  and  sanctioned  by  myself, 
appear  to  me  to  cover  the  whole  ground,  save  the  abstract 
question  to  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  call  my  at 
tention,  and  I  cheerfully  embrace  the  opportunity  you  have 
felt  it  your  duty  to  afford  me,  to  explain  myself  fully  on 
that  also.  As  anxious  as  you  can  possibly  be,  to  arrest 
all  agitation  upon  this  disturbing  subject,  I  have  consider 
ed  the  question  you  have  propounded  tome,  with  a  sincere 
desire  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  subject,  in  re 
spect  to  the  District  of  Columbia,  can  be  safely  placed  on 
the  same  ground  on  which  it  stands  in  regard  to  the 
States,  viz :  the  want  of  constitutional  power  in  Con 
gress  to  interfere  in  the  matter.  1  owe  it,  however,  to 
candor,  to  say  to  you,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy 
myself  that  the  grant  to  Congress,  in  the  constitution,  of 
the  power  of  '  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever''  over  the  Federal  District,  does  not  confer  on  that 
body  the  same  authority  over  the  subject  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  possessed  by  the  States  of  Mary 
land  and  Virginia;  or  that  Congress  might  not,  in  virtue 
thereof,  take  such  steps  upon  the  subject  in  this  District, 
as  those  States  might  themselves  take  within  their  own 
limits,  and  consistently  with  their  rights  of  sovereignty. 

"  Thus  viewing  the  matter,  I  would  not,  from  the  lights 
now  before  me,  feel  myself  safe  in  pronouncing  that  Con 
gress  does  not  possess  the  power  of  interfering  with  or 
abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  But,, 
whilst  such  are  my  present  impressions  upon  the  abstract 
question  of  the  legal  power  of  Congress — impressions 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  351 

which  I  shall  at  all  times  be  not  only  ready,  but  disposed, 
to  surrender  upon  conviction  of  error — I  do  not  hesitate  to 
give  it  to  you  as  my  deliberate  and  well-considered  opin 
ion,  that  there  are  objections  to  the  exercise  of  this  pow 
er,  against  the  wishes  of  the  slave-holding  States,  as  im 
perative  in  their  nature  and  obligations,  in  regulating 
the  conduct  of  public  men,  as  the  most  palpable  want  of 
constitutional  power  would  be. 

"You  have  alluded  in  your  letter  to  the  conspicuous, 
situation  in  which  1  have  been  placed  before  the  public, 
and  1  take  it  for  granted,  that  it  is  to  that  circumstance, 
rather  than  to  any  other,  that  I  am  to  ascribe  the  solici 
tude  felt  by  yourselves  and  your  fellow-citizens  in  respect 
to  my  views  on  this  subject.  I  recognise,  to  the  fullest 
extent,  the  propriety  of  this  desire  on  your  part:  and  al 
though  there  is  nothing  in  your  letter  making  the  avowal 
necessary,  I  prefer  that  not  only  you,  but  all  the  people  of 
the  United  States  shall  now  understand,  that  if  the  de 
sire  of  that  portion  of  them  which  is  favorable  to  my  ele 
vation  to  the  Chief  Magistracy,  should  be  gratified,  I  must 
go  into  the  Presidential  Chair  the  inflexible  and  uncom 
promising  opponent  of  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  Con 
gress  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
against  the  wishes  of  the  slave-holding  States  ;  and  also 
with  the  determination  equally  decided,  to  resist  the 


'qually  decu 
the  subject  ii 


slightest  interference  with  the  subject  in  the  States  where 
it  exists.  In  saying  this,  I  tender  neither  to  them  nor  to 
you,  any  pledges,  but  declare  only  settled  opinions  and 
convictions  of  duty.  Those  who  doubt  that  they  will  be 
carried  into  full  and  fair  effect,  are  under  no  obligations 
to  trust  me.  An  opportunity  is  afforded  them  to  exercise 
their  free  choice  in  the  matter,  and  they  may  be  assured, 
that  there  is  no  one  less  likely  to  complain  of  its  exercise 
than  myself. 

"  The  peculiar  importance  of  the  subject,  and  a  desire 
(which  you  will  allow  me  to  feel)  that  my  views  of  it 
should  be  correctly  understood,  make  it  proper  that  I 
should  explain  the  grounds  of  the  opinions  above  ex 
pressed.  They  are  founded,  amongst  others,  on  the  fol 
lowing  considerations,  viz: 

"  1st.  I  believe,  that  if  it  had  been  foreseen,  at  the 
time  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  that  the  seat  of 
the  Federal  Government  would  be  fixed  in  a  slave-hold 
ing  region,  and  that  the  subject  of  slavery  would  be  there 
agitated  to  the  prejudice  of  those  holding  this  species  of 
property,  the  right  to  do  so,  would,  with  the  assent  of  the 


352  THE  LIFE  OF 

non-slave-holding  States,  have  been  made  an  exception 
to  the  unrestricted  legislative  power  given  to  Congress 
over  the  District  to  be  ceded. 

U2dly.  I  cannot  but  regard  the  agitation  of  this  subject 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  as  a  surprise  upon  the  people 
of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  being  very  confident  that  if 
the  state  of  things  which  now  exists,  had  been  at  all  ap 
prehended  by  those  States,  the  cession  of  the  District 
would  not  have  been  made  except  upon  the  express  con 
dition  that  Congress  should  exercise  no  such  power:  and 
that  with  such  a  condition  the  cession  would,  in  the  then 
state  of  public  opinion,  have  been  readily  accepted. 

"  3dly.  I  do  therefore  believe,  that  the  abolition  of  slav 
ery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  against  the  wishes  of  the 
slave-holding  States  (assuming  that  Congress  has  the 
power  to  effect  it)  would  violate  the  spirit  of  that  com 
promise  of  interests  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  our  social 
compact;  and  I  am  thoroughly  convinced,  that  it  could 
not  be  so  done,  without  imminent  peril,  if  not  certain  de 
struction,  to  the  Union  of  the  States.  Viewing  the  mat 
ter  in  this  light,  it  is  my  clear  and  settled  opinion,  that  the 
Federal  Government  ought  to  abstain  from  doing  so,  and 
that  it  is  the  sacred  duty  of  those  whom  the  people  of  the 
United  States  entrust  with  the  control  of  its  action,  so  to 
use  the  constitutional  power  with  which  they  are  invest 
ed,  as  to  prevent  it. 

"I  think  it  due  to  the  occasion,  and  only  a  simple  act 
of  justice  to  my  fellow-citizens  of  the  north,  of  all  polit 
ical  parties,  to  add  the  expression  of  my  full  belief,  that 
the  opinions  above  expressed  accord  in  substance  with 
those  entertained  by  a  larger  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
non-slave-holding  States,  than  has  ever  before  existed  in 
those  States  on  a  public  question  of  equal  magnitude. 
It  is  also  due  to  them  to  say,  that  their  sentiments  on  this 
subject  spring  out  of  considerations  of  too  high  a  charac 
ter,  and  look  to  consequences  of  too  solemn  an  import,  to 
be  shaken  by  slight  causes.  With  only  a  generous  confi 
dence  on  the  part  of  the  South  in  their  brethren  of  the 
North,  and  a  firm  determination  on  the  part  of  each,  to 
visit  with  their  severest  displeasure  any  attempt  to  connect 
the  subject  with  party  politics,  those  sentimems  cannot 
be  overthrown.  All  future  attempts  on  the  part  of  the 
abolitionists  to  do  so,  will  then  only  serve  to  accumulate 
and  concentrate  public  odium  on  themselves.  That  there 
are  persons  at  the  North  who  are  far  from  concurring  in 
the  prevailing  sentiment  I  have  described,  is  certainly 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  353 

true  ;  but  their  numbers,  when  compared  with  the  rest  of 
the  community,  are  very  inconsiderable  ;  and  if  the  con 
dition  of  things  be  not  greatly  aggravated  by  imprudence, 
many  of  them,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  ultimately  adopt 
sounder  views  of  the  subject ;  and  the  efforts  of  those 
who  may  persist  in  the  work  of  agitation,  may  be  over 
come  by  reason,  or  rendered  inoperative  by  constitutional 
remedies. 

'•  To  one  class  of  those  who  have  hitherto  petitioned 
Congress  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  I  cannot  forbear  to  refer.  I  allude  to  the  Soci 
ety  of  Friends,  or  the  people  usually  denominated  Qua 
kers.  The  uniformity  of  their  course  upon  this  subject, 
the  temperate  manner  in  which  it  has  been  manifested, 
and  the  marked  excellence  of  their  conduct  and  charac 
ter,  appear  to  have  conciliated  respect  for  their  motives, 
even  from  those  who  differ  with  them  in  opinion.  As  far 
as  my  observation  has  enabled  me  to  judge,  it  is  due  to 
them  to  say,  that  as  there  has  been  no  indicationof  any 
change  of  opinion  upon  their  part  during  the  present  ex 
citement,  so  has  there  been  no  evidence  of  a  disposition 
to  lend  themselves  to  the  undue  agitations  of  the  public 
mind,  attempted  by  others.  There  is  certainly  no  class 
of  people  in  this  country,  who  have  a  deeper  interest  in 
the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  of  the  happy  system  of 
government  which  it  upholds,  than  they  ;  and  it  has  now 
become  very  apparent  to  all  reflecting  and  observing 
minds,  that  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia  cannot  be  pressed  to  the  result  they  desire,  with 
safety  to  those  paramount  objects.  Do  not  these  consid 
erations  justify  the  hope,  that  from  them,  at  least,  we  may 
reasonably  expect,  for  the  future,  a  mode  of  dealing  with  the 
subject,  which,  whilst  it  does  no  injustice  to  their  princi 
ples,  shall  repress,  instead  of  increasing  agitation,  and  not 
endanger  the  great  interests  to  which  I  have  referred  ?  To 
doubt  it  would  be  to  distrust  the  influence  which  indus 
try,  morality,  intelligence,  and  republican  habits — quali 
ties  wThich  all  admit  them  to  possess  in  a  high  degree,  are 
calculated,  in  great  emergencies,  to  exert  upon  the  con 
duct  of  their  possessors.  And  for  the  like  reason,  it  may 
certainly  be  expected  that  well  disposed  persons  of  other 
religious  denominations,  who,  without  a  full  consideration 
of  the  difficulties  which  surround  this  subject,  and  of  the 
dangerous  consequences  to  which  the  efforts  of  the  abo 
litionists  so  evidently  tend,  have  lent  to  those  efforts  the 
influence  of  their  names  and  character,  will  be  careful 
30* 


354  THE  LIFE  OF 

hereafter  to  avoid  the  repetition  of  an  error  so  unfortunate 
and  mischievous. 

"  In  every  view  of  the  subject,  therefore,  it  does  appear 
to  me,  that,  although  there  certainly  is,  in  the  present  con 
dition  of  the  country  in  relation  to  it,  sufficient  to  excite 
the  most  serious  attention,  there  is  nothing  in  the  state  of 
public  opinion  in  the  United  States  to  justify  that  panic 
in  the  public  mind,  which  invariably  disqualifies  those 
who  partake  of  it,  from  dealing  wisely  or  successfully 
with  the  circumstances  by  which  it  is  produced.  From 
abroad  we  have,  I  think,  some  right  to  expect  less  inter 
ference  than  heretofore.  We  shall,  I  am  confident,  for 
some  time  at  least,  have  no  more  foreign  agents  to  en 
lighten  us  on  the  subject.  Recent  results  here,  and  the 
discussions  with  which  they  have  been  attended,  cannot 
fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  reading  and  reflecting 
portion  of  the  foreign  public.  By  these  means  they  will 
be  made  to  understand  our  real  condition  in  this  respect, 
and  they  will  know  that  the  unchangeable  law  of  that 
condition  is,  that  the  slave  question  must  be  left  to  the 
control  of  the  slave-holding  States  themeslves,  without 
molestation  or  interference  from*any  quarter ;  that  foreign 
interference  of  every  description  can  only  be  injurious  to 
the  slave,  without  benefit  to  any  interest,  and  will  not 
be  endured  by  any  section  of  our  country ;  and  that  any 
interference,  coming  from  even  the  non  slave-holding 
portions  of  our  own  territory,  is  calculated  to  endanger 
the  perpetuity,  and  if  sanctioned  by  the  General  Govern 
ment,  would  inevitably  occasion  the  dissolution  of  our 
happy  Union.  Seeing  the  subject  in  this,  its  true  aspect, 
and  conscious  as  they  must  be,  that  the  downfall  of  this 
republic  would  be  the  severest  blow  that  the  cause  of  lib 
erty  and  self-government  could  receive,  and  from  which 
its  recovery  would  be  hopeless,  the  wise  and  the  good 
amongst  them — those  who  are  really  guided  by  the  prin 
ciples  of  justice  and  humanity — will  pause  and  acknowl 
edge  that  they  have  misapprehended  the  true  bearings  of 
this  question.  Instead  of  accusing  our  countrymen,  who 
hold  property  in  slaves,  with  disregarding  the  general  prin 
ciples  of  liberty  and  the  dictates  of  a  pure  religion,  they 
will  recognize,  in  this  class  of  our  citizens,  as  sincere 
friends  to  the  happiness  of  mankind  as  any  others,  and 
will  become  sensible  that  this  species  of  property,  the  re 
sult  of  causes  over  which  they  had  no  control,  is  an  in 
heritance  which  they  only  know  how  to  dispose  of.  In 
stead  of  charging  the  people  of  the  non-slave-holding 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN.  355 

States,  as  has  often  been  done,  with  hypocrisy  in  pro 
fessing  an  ardent  love  of  freedom,  they  will  find  that  the 
free  citizens  of  the  North  are  only  acting  upon  the  princi 
ples  of  fidelity,  to  their  most  solemn  engagements,  thai  if 
they  were  to  attempt  the  accomplishment  of  what  is  de 
sired  of  them  by  those  who  regard  slavery  as  inconsistent 
with  the  equal  rights  on  which  our  institutions  are  found 
ed,  they  will  involve  themselves  in  the  odium,  either  of 
seeking  to  evade  a  compact  which  was  the  means  and  the 
pledge  of  our  national  existence,  or  of  availing  themselves 
of  their  present  power  and  unexampled  prosperity,  to  dis 
solve  a  connection  with  their  southern  brethren,  formed 
at  a  period  of  mutual  adversity,  for  a  cause  which  was 
then  not  only  known  to  exist  but  the  continuance  of  which 
was  expressly  recognized  in  the  bond  of  their  union. 

"I  have  thus  gentlemen,  been  compelled  to  extend  my 
remarks,  considerably  further  than  I  intended,  when  I 
commenced  to  answer  your  inquiry.  As,  however,  the 
subject  was  delicate  and  important,  I  feel  that  I  have  not 
trespassed  farther  upon  your  time  in  its  examination  than 
was  proper  to  enable  you  to  comprehend  the  views  I  en 
tertained  of  it,  or  than  was  respectful  to  the  considera 
tions  which  justified  your  call  for  those  views.  And  I 
feel  assured,  whatever  may  be  the  difference  of  opinion, 
if  any,  which  exists  between  myself  and  any  other  por 
tions  of  my  fellow-citizens,  that  the  issue  of  this  matter 
as  of  all  preceding  questions  which  have  agitated  the  pub 
lic  mind,  and  have  been  thought  to  be  pregnant  with  dan 
ger,  will,  in  their  hands,  be  such  as  to  strengthen  the 
bonds  of  their  union,  and  to  increase  those  fraternal  and 
patriotic  affections,  which  our  past  national  history  has  so 
often  and  so  honorably  illustrated. 
I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

M.  VAN  BUREN. 
MESSRS.  JUNIUS  AMIS, 

ISAAC  HALL, 

JOHN  WALL, 

C.  YELLO\VBY, 

SAMUEL  B.  SPIRRILL,  and 

JAMES  W.  PUIZINN.  JACKSCN,  N.  C. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


The  nomination  of  Air.  Van  Bur  en  to  the  office  of  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  by  a  national  convention. 
His  letter  accepting  the  nomination. 

The  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  nation  should 
combine  in  his  character,  a  rare  assemblage  of 
high,  intellectual  and  moral  qualities.  He  should 
be  endowed  with  a  philosophic  strength  of  mind, 
capable  of  reaching  beyond  formal  rules,  to  fun 
damental  principles  ;  he  should  possess  quickness 
of  apprehension,  so  as  to  adapt  his  measures  to 
unexpected  circumstances  and  to  the  progress  of 
public  opinion ;  he  should  be  equally  removed,  in 
his  feelings,  from  a  blind  attachment  to  antiquated 
forms,  and  from  a  spirit  of  useless  innovation ;  he 
should  be  blessed  with  a  coolness  and  comprehen 
siveness  of  judgment,  which,  embracing  the  present 
the  past,  and  the  future,  should  rise,  in  the  most 
sudden  emergencies,  above  temporary  expedients 
and  estimate  the  remote  consequences  of  an  ac> 


358  THE  LIFE  OF 

tion ;  and  he  should  unite  to  these  qualities,  that 
happy  combination  of  discretion  with  energy,  which 
enables  its  possessor  to  defend  with  firmness,  and 
to  concede  with  dignity. 

This  rare  assemblage  of  high  mental  endow 
ments,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  believe  him, 
in  an  eminent  degree,  to  possess,  and  their  atten 
tion  has  long  been  directed  to  him,  as  a  suitable 
successor  to  the  venerable  patriot  who  now  fills  the 
Presidential  Chair,  The  public  sentiment  has 
been  expressed,  to  this  purport,  in  various  sections 
of  the  country,  by  the  public  press  and  by  the  pro 
ceedings  of  various  public  bodies.  Indeed,  it  has 
been  obvious  to  the  most  cursory  observer,  that  the 
republican  party,  throughout  the  Union,  have,  for  a 
considerable  period  of  time,  been  fixing  their  hopes 
upon  Mr.  Van  Buren,  as  best  qualified  to  perpetu 
ate  those  sound  principles  of  policy  which  have 
guided  the  present  administration. 

To  obtain  a  clear  expression  of  the  popular  will, 
a  national  convention  of  delegates  from  the  repub 
licans  in  each  state,  was  early  agreed  upon.  This 
convention  assembled  in  Baltimore,  on  the  20th 
day  of  May,  1835.  More  than  six  hundred  dele 
gates  were  in  attendance,  and  twenty-two  states 
with  two  territories,  were  represented. 

Upon  the  first  ballot,  Mr.  Van  Buren  received 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  whole  assembly  for  the 
office  of  President.  Richard  M.  Johnson  was  sub 
sequently  nominated  for  the  office  of  Vice  Presi 
dent.  The  letter  of  a  committee  of  the  convention 
announcing  this  nomination  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and 
bis  reply  thereto  are  subjoined  : 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  350 

"  MAY  23,  1835. 

"  SIR:  A  convention  of  republican  delegates  from  va 
rious  parts  of  ihe  Union,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  suit 
able  candidates  for  the  offices  of  President  a»d  Vice  Pres 
ident,  assembled  in  Baltimore  on  the  20th  instant,  and 
unanimously  agreed  to  present  to  their  country,  your 
name  for  that  of  President  of  the  United  States.  We 
have  been  requested  to  communicate  to  you  this  nomina 
tion,  and  ask  your  acceptance  of  the  same.  We  take 
pleasure  in  performing,  this  duty,  and  respectfully  solicit 
an  answer  at  such  time  as  may  suit  your  convenience  to 
give  one. 

"  With  sentiments  of  high  esteem,  and  respect  we  have 
the  honor  to  be.  your  obedient  servants, 

A.  STEVENSON,  President. 
JAS.  FENNER, 
EDWARD  CONDICT, 
UPTON  S.  HEATH, 
R.  STRANGE, 
J.  B.  NEVITT, 
FRANKLIN  CANNON, 
Vice  Presidents  of  the  National  Convention, 
To  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  Esq.  of  New  York." 

"  WASHINGTON,  May  29th,  1835. 

"GENTLEMEN:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re 
ceipt  of  your  letter  of  the  23d  instant.  The  nomination 
you  have  been  deputed  to  announce  to  me,  presents  the  on 
ly  contingency,  upon  the  occurrence  of  which,  I  could 
consent  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  high  office  of  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.  When  my  name  was  first  as 
sociated  with  the  question  of  General  Jackson's  succes 
sor,  more  through  the  ill  will  of  opponents  than  the  par 
tiality  of  friends,  I  determined  to  wait  for  the  develop 
ment  of  the  views  of  the  republicans  of  the  Union,  and  to- 
pursue  that  course  only  which  their  unbiased  judgment 
should  finally  recommend.  I  deemed  that  course  to  be 
due  to  the  administration,  of  which  I  was  a  member — to 
the  best  interests  of  the  country — and  to  the  indivisibility 
of  a  political  party,  by  the  original  organization  of  which 
the  overthrow  of  republican  principles  in  the  United 
States  was  prevented,  and  upon  the  ascendancy  of  which 
we  can  alone  depend  for  their  preservation.  To  the  of 
fers  of  support  which  were  at  that  period  occasionally 
made  to  me  from  different  quarters  of  the  Union,  I  res 
pectfully  replied,  that  the  public  good,  in  my  opinion,  re- 


360  THE  LIFE  OF 

quired  the  services  of  General  Jackson  for  a  second  term 
— that  the  agitation  of  the  question  of  his  successor,  at 
that  early  period,  must  of  necessity  embarrass  the  admin 
istration — and  that  it  was  my  desire  that  my  name  should 
not  be  connected  with  tht  subject.  From  that  lime  to 
the  present,  I  have  neither  solicited  the  aid  nor  sought  the 
support  of  any  man  in  reference  to  the  high  office  for  which 
I  have  been  nominated  ;  unless  my  replies  to  interroga 
tories  from  my  fellow  citizens  upon  public  questions,  and 
my  sincere  endeavors  to  make  myself  worthy  of  the  re 
spect  and  confidence  of  the  American  people,  are  liable  to 
that  construction.  For  the  truth  of  this  declaration,  I  can 
safely  appeal  to  the  hundreds  of  honorable  men  who  com 
posed  the  recent  convention — to  the  numerous  editors  and 
politicians  throughout  the  Union,  who  have  distinguish 
ed  me  by  their  preference,  and  to  rny  private  correspon 
dents  and  intimate  friends,  not  excepting  the  considerable 
number  of  persons,  once  my  friends  and  associates,  whom 
the  fluctuations  of  political  life  have  converted  into  oppo 
nents.  In  none  of  these  classes,  or  in  any  other  of  our 
community,  is  there  a  man  who  can  truly  say,  that  I  have 
solicited  his  political  support,  or  that  I  have  entered  or 
sought  to  enter  with  him  into  any  arrangement,  to  bring 
about  the  nomination  which  I  have  now  received,  or  to 
secure  my  elevation  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  my 
country. 

The  liberal  men  of  all  parties,  I  trust,  and  you  and 
those  you  represent,  I  am  sure,  will  pardon  me  for  hav 
ing  thus  spoken  of  my  own  conduct  in  reference  to  a  point 
upon  which  I  have  been  the  silent  object  of  attack,  as 
causeless  as  it  has  been  violent  and  unremitted;  especial 
ly,  as  I  alone  can  answer  for  it  in  relation  to  all  my  coun 
trymen,  although  thousands  may  be  ready  to  answer  in 
relation  to  themselves. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  democracy  of  the  na 
tion,  in  convention  assembled,  having,  as  you  inform  me, 
with  a  degree  of  unanimity  that  I  cannot  too  highly  ap 
preciate,  pronounced  me  worthy  of  so  great  a  trust,  I  can 
not  hesitate  in  making  their  wishes  the  rule  of  my  con 
duct.  I  do,  therefore,  with  a  deep,  and  I  hope  abiding 
sense  of  the  honor  conferred  upon  me  by  their  preference, 
accept  the  nomination  which  has  been  tendered  to  me  by 
the  convention. 

I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any  point  of  interest  in  the 
general  policy  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  respect  to 
which,  my  opinions  have  not  been  made  known  by  my  of- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

ficial  acts — by  my  own  public  avowals,  and  by  the  author 
ized  explanations  of  my  friends.  If  there  be  any  such, 
however,  you  may  rest  assured  of  my  ready  disposition  to 
comply,  on  all  suitable  occasions,  with  the  wishes  of  my 
fellow  citizens  in  this  regard.  I  content  myself,  on  this 
occasion,  with  saying,  that  I  consider  myself  the  honored 
instrument,  selected  by  the  friends  of  the  present  admin 
istration,  to  carry  out  its  principles  and  policy;  and  that, 
as  well  from  inclination  as  from  duty,  1  shall,  if  honored 
with  the  choice  of  the  American  people,  endeavor  to  tread 
generally  in  the  footsteps  of  President  Jackson — happy,  if 
I  shall  be  able  to  perfect  the  work  which  he  has  so  glori 
ously  begun. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  that  there  is  no  country  in  the 
world,  whose  inhabitants  are  so  well  secured  in  their  civil 
and  religious  rights,  and  enjoy  so  large  a  share  of  prosper 
ity  and  happiness,  as  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
For  this,  they  are  indebted  less  to  salubrity  of  climate  and 
fertility  of  soil,  than  to  our  excellent  system  of  govern 
ment  ;  by  which,  more  than  any  other,  every  man  is  pro 
tected  in  the  application  of  his  powers  and  faculties  to  his 
own  benefit.  That  dissatisfaction  should,  nevertheless, 
occasionally  arise,  even  under  the  best  administration  of 
a  system  capable  of  producing  such  happy  results,  is  not 
to  Se  wondered  at.  Until  the  wit  of  man  shall  be  able  to 
devise  some  plan  of  Representative  Government,  by 
which  all  who  think  themselves  qualified  may  be,  at  the 
same  time,  admitted  to  a  participation  in  the  administra 
tion  of  its  affairs,  we  must  not  expect  to  be  relieved  from 
the  spirit  of  complaint,  or  even  surprised  to  find  it  most 
vehement  at  a  period  of  the  greatest  prosperity.  But  be 
tween  partisan  complaints  as  to  the  management  of  our 
government,  or  even  diversities  of  opinion  in  relation  to 
the  wisdom  of  supposed  improvements  in  the  details  of  its 
construction,  and  a  desire  to  undermine  and  overthrow  it, 
there  is  an  immeasurable  difference.  Whilst  the  one  can 
at  worst,  but  produce  partial  and  temporary  obstructions 
in  the  public  service,  success  in  the  other  would  inevita 
bly  plunge  our  country,  from  its  present  lofty  eminence, 
into  an  abyss  of  anarcfiy  and  ruin. 

We  hold  an  immense  stake  for  the  weal  or  wo  of  man 
kind,  to  the  importance  of  which  we  should  not  be  insen 
sible.  The  intense  interest  manifested  abroad  in  every 
movement  here,  that  threatens  the  stability  of  our  system, 
shows  the  deep  conviction  which  pervades  the  world, 
that  upon  its  fate  depends  the  cause  of  Republican  Gov- 
31 


362          LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

ernment.  The  advocates  of  monarchical  systems  have  not 
been  slow  in  perceiving  danger  to  such  institutions  in  the 
permanency  of  our  Constitution,  nor  backward  in  seizing 
upon  every  passing  event  by  which  their  predictions  ot  its 
speedy  destruction  could  be  in  any  degree  justified.  Thus 
far,  they  have  been  disappointed  in  their  anticipations, 
and  the  circumstances  by  which  they  were  encouraged, 
however  alarming  at  the  time,  have  in  the  end  only  ten 
ded  to  show  forth  the  depth  of  that  devotion  to  the  Union, 
which  is  yet,  thank  God !  the  master  passion  of  the 
American  bosom. 

Thoroughly  convinced  that  the  overthrow  of  our  pres 
ent  constitution  and  the  consequent  destruction  of  the 
confederacy  which  it  binds  together,  would  be  the  great 
est  sacrifice  of  human  happiness  and  hopes  that  has  ever 
been  made  at  the  shrine  of  personal  ambition,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  promise  you,  that  every  effort  in  my  power, 
whether  in  public  or  private  life,  shall  be  made  for  their 
preservation.  The  father  of  his  country,  foreseeing  this 
danger,  warned  us  to  cherish  the  Union  as  the  palladium 
of  our  safety,  and  the  great  exemplar  of  our  poliiical  faith, 
Thomas  Jefferson,  has  taught  us,  that  to  preserve  that 
common  sympathy  between  the  slates,  out  of  which  the 
Union  sprang,  and  which  constitutes  its  surest  foundation, 
we  should  exercise  the  powers  which  of  right  belong  to 
the  General  Government,  in  a  spirit  of  moderation  and 
brotherly  love,  and  religiously  abstain  from  the  assump 
tion  of  such  as  have  not  been  delegated  by  the  Constitu 
tion. 

Accept,  gentlemen,  my  thanks,  for  the  kind  manner  in 
which  you  have  performed  the  duty  assigned  to  you,  and 
believe  me  to  be,  very  sincerely,  your  friend  and  obedient 
servant,  M.  VAN  BUREN. 

To  ANDREW  STEVENSON,  Esq.  President,  and 

JAMES  FENNER, 

EDWARD  CONDICT, 

UPTON  S.  HEATH, 

ROBERT  STRANGE, 

J.  B.  NEVITT,  and 

FRANKLIN  CANNON.  Esqrs. 
Vice  Presidents  of  the  late  National  Convention." 


CHAPTER    XXVI, 


CONCLUSION. 

In  the  foregoing  pages,  the  writer  has  attempted 
to  present  an  accurate  and  full  view  of  the  per 
sonal  history  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  a  clear  ex 
position  of  his  political  opinions.  The  firm  belief 
of  the  writer  in  the  most  ultra  democratic  doctrines, 
and  his  partiality  towards  the  subject  of  this  narra 
tive  as  the  champion  of  those  doctrines,  he  has  not 
any  where  affected  to  conceal.  No  doubt  this 
strong  bias  of  his  mind  has  led  him  to  take  views 
of  certain  public  events,  widely  different  from  those 
which  are  entertained  by  persons  of  an  opposite 
political  faith.  He  has,  however,  strenuously  en 
deavored  not  to  distort,  conceal  or  misrepresent, 
facts.  The  incidents  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  life  have 
been  fairly  stated,  and  his  opinions  fully  displayed. 
Every  reader  is  at  liberty  to  connect  with  them 
such  sentiments  of  approval  or  reprobation  as  they 
may  seem  to  require. 

"  Hanc  veniam  damus,  pelimusque  vicissim." 


364  THE  LIFE  OF 

The  narrative  has  exhibited  the  son  of  a  humble 
farmer,  rising  through  the  several  grades  of  pro 
fessional   and    political  promotion,  to  the  second 
office  in  the  government.      The  friends  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  ascribe  this  remarkable  elevation  to 
superior  ability  and  virtue  ;  his  enemies  charge  it 
to  intrigue  and  accident.     It  appears,  however,  to 
be  universally  admitted,  that  he  is  endowed  with 
extrordinary  abilities  of  some  kind.     This  conces 
sion  has,  at  length,  been  extorted  from  the  most 
unw.lling  lips.     During  many  of  the  earliest  years 
of  his  public  life,  he  was  denied,  not  only  honesty, 
but  ability.     In  regard  to  the  latter  endowment, 
the  mouth  of  calumny  has  been  effectually  stop 
ped.     Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  the  course  of  his  long 
political  career,  has  always  shown  himself  fully 
equal  to  the  various  stations  he  has  held,  and  the 
severe  responsibilities  which  have  been  devolved 
upon  him.     At  each  successive  step  in  his  advance 
ment,  his  enemies  have  predicted  his  failure,  but 
the  result  has  covered  themselves  with  confusion. 
He  has  never  failed  to  meet  the   highest  expecta 
tions  of  his  friends  and  has  not  unfrequently  sur 
passed  them.     His  ability,  therefore,  to   adminis 
ter  any  office  in  the  government,  both  in  respect  of 
natural  parts  and  acquired  knowledge,  is  no  longer 
a  matter  of  doubt.     His  past  success  amounts  to 
demonstration  on  this  point. 

With  regard  to  his  integrity  and  patriotism,  and 
the  accordance  of  his  political  principles  with  the 
true  interests  of  the  country,  a  similar  unanimity 
of  opinion  cannot,  in  the  present  generation,  be 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  365 

expected.  The  great  body  of  the  people,  how 
ever,  appear  to  entertain  perfect  confidence  in 
these  qualities  of  his  mind  and  character.  Still  it 
is  the  theory  of  not  a  few,  that  the  people  are  un 
able  to  judge  rightly  on  these  points,  and  that  their 
singular  attachment  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  as  well  as 
to  President  Jackson,  is  the  result  of  blind  preju 
dice,  excited  by  appeals  to  their  worst  passions. 

It  is  probably  useless  to  remonstrate  with  men 
who  entertain  such  views  ;  nature  has  so  made 
them  that  they  are  not  open  to  conviction  from  ar 
guments  which  satisfy  the  great  body  of  their  fel 
low  men.  Still,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  advert  to 
one  or  two  facts,  strongly  tending  to  show  that 
their  belief  in  the  credulity  of  the  people  is  ill  foun 
ded  and  unjust. 

If  the  great  mass  of  the  community  are  led  by 
sophistry  and  the  artful  representations  of  ingenious 
men,  how  happens  it  that  their  opinions  are  form; 
ed  to  their  present  standard  ?  It  may  be  safely 
stated  that  two  thirds  of  the  public  presses  in  this 
country,  are  opposed  to  the  principles  of  the  pre 
sent  administration.  The  periodical  reviews  and 
literary  journals  lean  against  the  democratic  cause 
without  a  single  exception.  Public  seminaries  of 
instruction,  the  learned  professions  and  a  vast  pre 
ponderance  of  the  literary  and  oratorical  talent  of 
the  country,  are  under  the  same  bias.  English 
literature  so  extensively  circulated  among  us  is 
pervaded  by  the  same  principles.  Wealth,  fashion 
and  inherited  distinction  are,  to  a  great  extent,  ar 
rayed  against  the  democratic  cause.  How  then  does 
31* 


366  THE  LIFE  OF 

it  happen  that  the  people  are  guided  by  opposite 
sentiments  ?  If  they  may  be  imposed  upon  by  plau 
sible  demagogues,  or  cajoled  by  flattery,  or  alarm 
ed  by  exaggeration,  or  blindly  led  by  example, 
why  has  the  unceasing  application  of  all  these 
means,  by  the  horror-stricken  enemies  of  popular 
misrule,  hitherto  failed  to  produce  its  natural  ef 
fect? 

The  true  answer  to  this  question  is,  that  the 
great  mass  of  the  American  people  are  not  so 
meanly  endowed  and  so  unhappily  constituted. 
There  is  an  honest  love  of  truth,  a  blunt  native 
judgment,  a  piercing  sagacity,  in  the  great  mass  of 
the  people,  which  cannot  be  widely  led  astray 
from  the  principles  of  truth,  patriotism  and  virtue. 
The  demagogue  can  never  meet  the  approbation 
of  these  sentiments.  Intrigue  and  hollow-hearted 
patriotism  wither  before  them.  They  are  attrac 
ted,  instinctively,  by  the  capable  and  honest  public 
servant ;  they  recoil  from  the  political  gambler. 

One  would  think  that  the  experience  of  the  past 
would  have  taught  designing  politicians,  that  the 
combined  influence  of  unbounded  wealth  and  a 
partizan  press  can  never  turn  public  sentiment, 
for  any  considerable  period,  from  the  channel  of 
truth. 

The  democratic  usage,  of  selecting  those  men  for 
office  who  will  faithfully  express  the  will  of  the 
people,  leads  to  that  coincidence  of  sentiment, 
between  republicans  and  their  public  agents, 
which  is  characterized  by  their  opponents  as  ser 
vility.  It  is  illustrated  in  the  example  of  General 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  367 

Jackson.  The  leading  measures  of  his  administra 
tion  have  been  ardently  approved  by  the  democra 
cy.  This  results,  it  is  said,  from  blind  attachment  to 
a  leader,  without  the  capacity  to  form  a  just  judg 
ment  of  his  public  measures.  The  democratic  par 
ty,  it  is  alledged,  are  so  organized  and  drilled  by 
the  artful  partizans  of  the  President,  as  to  follow 
him,  whither  soever  he  may  lead. 

But  the  true  cause  of  the  surprising  'harmony 
which  exists  between  the  President  and  the  peo 
ple,  is  either  not  understood  by  the  anti-democratic 
party  or  is  misrepresented.  The  truth  is,  that  the 
President  has  been  sustained  in  his  measures,  be 
cause  they  have  all  been  based  upon  a  careful 
observation,  and  thorough  knowledge,  of  the  popu 
lar  will.  The  President  has  had  the  sagacity  to 
observe  the  sentiments  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people  and  the  integrity  and  firmness  to  carry  them 
into  effect.  He  has  collected  and  embodied  the 
wishes  of  the  people  ;  he  has  felt  himself,  constant 
ly,  to  be  their  agent  and  minister ;  and  if  he  has 
seemed  to  lead  public  opinion,  it  has  been  because 
he  is  endued  with  a  penetration  which  has  ena 
bled  him  to  foresee  its  current,  and  by  throwing 
himself  at  its  head,  to  bring  its  full  force  to  sus 
tain  him.  Guided  by  the  fundamental  principle, 
that  the  will  of  the  majority  should  in  all  cases, 
control,  he  has  never  attempted  to  defeat  that  will. 
He  has  earnestly  endeavored  to  ascertain  the 
wishes  of  his  constituents,  and  having  ascertained 
them,  he  has  labored,  with  astonishing  firmness, 
vigor  and  capacity,  to  carry  them  into  effect.  This 


368  THE  LIFE  OF 

is  the  source  of  that  attachment  which  binds  the 
heart  of  every  true  republican  to  the  great  political 
father  of  the  democracy.  Many  a  plain  farmer  or 
mechanic,  reflecting  amid  his  solitary  labors,  on  the 
"  Great  American  System,"  the  Bank,  and  other 
deeply  contrived  measures  of  general  policy,  and 
gradually  forming  his  own  mind  into  a  clear  view 
of  their  bearing  upon  the  interests  of  the  country, 
has  been  astonished  to  find  a  veto  message  or  proc 
lamation,  from  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation, 
suddenly  lighting  up  his  mind,  unlocking  as  it  were 
his  own  secret  thoughts,  coinciding  with  his  own 
internal  convictions,  but  displaying  them  with  such 
clearness  and  strength  as  to  leave  him  no  longer 
in  doubt.  He  sees  that  the  President  has  reasoned 
as  he  is  reasoning,  but  with  greater  rapidity  and 
vigor ;  he  feels  that  the  breast  of  the  President 
beats  in  unison  with  his  own  ;  that  he  is  truly  one 
of  the  people,  identical  in  his  wishes  and  feelings 
with  the  plain  farmer  at  the  plough.  It  is  impos 
sible  for  him  not  to  repose  confidence  in  such  a 
man  and  fasten  affection  upon  him.  Jt  is  evident 
that  the  same  sympathetic  cord,  which  binds  the 
hearts  of  true  republicans  to  each  other  through 
out  the  Union,  unites  them  all  to  their  firm  and 
faithful  friend  at  the  head  of  the  government. 

The  foregoing  narrative  has  exhibited  the  politi 
cal  viewTs  and  public  life  of  Mr.  Van  Buren ;  and 
from  thence,  it  may  be  possible  to  conjecture, 
whether  he  will  succeed  to  that  place  in  the  confi 
dence  of  the  people,  which  is  occupied  by  the  pre 
sent  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation.  It  onh  re- 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  309 

mains  for  the  writer  to  add,  that  the  private  char 
acter  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  above  all  censure  or 
suspicion.     In  the  relations  of  father  and  son,  of 
husband,  brother,  and  friend,  he  has  always  dis 
played  those  excellencies  of  character  and  feeling 
which  adorn  human  nature.     His  delicate  kindness 
to  the  partner  of  his  bosom,  while  her  life   was 
spared,  his  filial  devotion  to  his  parents,  his  gener 
ous  affection  for  the  whole  circle  of  his  relatives, 
are  attractive  traits  in  his  character,  on  which,  did 
propriety  permit,  the  writer  would  gladly  dwell. 
Extending  our  view  to  the  larger  circle  of  his  per 
sonal  friends,  rarely  has  any  man  won  a  stronger 
hold  upon  the  confidence   and   affection  of  those 
with  whom  he  has  been  connected.     The  purity 
of  his  motives,  his  integrity  of  character,  and  the 
steadiness   of  his  attachments,   have    always  re 
tained  for  him,  the  warm  affection  of  many,  even 
among  the  ranks  of  his  political  opponents. 

Mr.  Van  Buren   has   ever  been    an  exemplary 
and  strict  observer  of  those  moral  rules  which  are 
essential  to  the  well-being  and  decorum  of  society. 
He  has  never  sought  to  display  the  strength  of  his 
mind  by  daring  infractions  of  wholesome  institutions 
which  are,  by  some,  regarded  as  a  rule  of  conduct 
only  for  ordinary  understandings.     Notwithstand 
ing  his  long  connection  with  the  most  exciting  po 
litical  questions  and  conflicts,  he  has  avoided  those 
personal  rencontres,  into  which  political  leaders  are 
too  often,  almost  by  necessity,  drawn.     Not   the 
slightest  stain  rests  upon  the   purity  of  his  moral 
character ;  it  has  been  so  bright  and  unsullied,  that 
calumny  has  seldom  ventured  to  assail  it. 


370  THE  LIFE  OF 

The  ease  and  frankness  of  his  manners,  his  feli 
citous  powers  of  conversation,  and  the  general 
amiablencss  of  his  feelings,  render  him  the  orna 
ment  of  the  social  circle.  Uniting  in  his  character 
firmness  and  forbearance  ;  habitual  self-respect 
and  a  delicate  regard  for 'the  feelings  of  others; 
neither  the  perplexities  of  legal  practice,  nor  the 
cares  of  public  life,  nor  the  annoyances  of  party 
strife,  have  ever  been  able  to  disturb  the  serenity 
of  his  temper,  or  to  derange  for  a  moment  the  equa 
nimity  of  his  deportment.  He  has  with  equal  pro 
priety,  mingled  in  the  free  intercourse  of  private 
life  and  sustained  the  dignity  of  official  station. 
Amid  the  most  violent  party  conflicts,  he  has  re 
tained  the  personal  respect  of  those  opponents,  who 
have  personally  known  him,  and  not  unfrequently 
their  confidence  and  friendship.* 

As  a  politician,  his  course,  though  decided  and 
unyielding,  has  always  been  liberal,  open  and  hon 
est.  No  instance  of  bad  faith,  no  example  of  double 
dealing,  no  act  of  duplicity  or  disingenuousness  has 

*  Mr.  Van  Bin-en  has  ever  been  a  kind  friend,  and  generous  pa- 
tron  of  humble  merit.  Our  whole  country  may  be  said  to  have 
felt  the  benefit  of  his  discriminating  liberality,  in  the  case  of  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  the  present  Attorney  General  of  the 
United  States.  Mr.  Butler  was,  almost  wholly,  indebted  to  Mr. 
Van  Buren  for  encouragement,  to  commence  his  professional  stu 
dies,  and  for  support  and  instruction  in  completing  them.  The 
genius  and  industry,  which  have  distinguished  the  brilliant  career 
of  that  gentleman  at  the  bar,  and  which  have  raised  him,  in  the 
prime  of  life,  to  his  present  eminence,  together  with  the  moral  ex 
cellence  and  integrity,  for  which  he  is  not  less  conspicuous,  present 
a  gratifying  example  of  successful  merit,  as  well  as  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  liberality,  and  his  extraordinary  discriminatio  i  in  be- 


stowins:  it. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  371 

ever  been  fastened  upon  his  political  character.  His 
friends  challenge  the  severest  scrutiny  on  this  point, 
and  invite  the  most  unscrupulous  exposure.  He 
has  himself  done  so,  in  his  acceptance  of  the  Bal 
timore  nomination.  Surely,  amid  vigilant  enemies 
and  treacherous  friends,  the  means  of  proof  must 
exist,  if  there  be  any  instance  of  intrigue  or  secret 
management  in  his  public  life.  The  public  will 
not  be  satisfied  with  vague,  general  charges  ;  proof 
must  be  given  of  specific  acts.  By  such  proof  alone 
can  his  enemies  gain  the  public  ear ;  it  has  been 
too  often  temporarily  deluded  by  empty  and  false 
accusation.  Without  such  proof,  the  common  sense 
of  mankind  will  be  slow  to  believe  that  his  regular 
and  steady  progress  towards  the  highest  honors  of 
the  government,  through  a  long  course  of  public 
service,  is  ascribable  to  the  low  artifices  of  duplici 
ty  and  cunning.  Such  a  supposition,  implies  too 
harsh  an  imputation  upon  the  penetration  and  vir 
tue  of  the  nation  to  be  for  a  moment  admitted.  His 
success  as  a  political  leader,  will,  rather,  continue 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  superiority  of  his  genius,  the 
extent  of  his  attainments,  the  intrinsic  excellence  of 
his  character,  and  his  admirable  knowledge  of  men. 
His  clear  perception  of  truth,  his  predominating 
good  sense,  the  honesty  of  his  own  motives,  and  his 
sagacity  in  detecting  the  motives  of  others,  have 
indeed  endowed  him  with  a  rare  talent  of  harmoni 
zing,  concentrating,  and  directing  the  varied  feel 
ings  and  exertions  of  the  members  of  a  great  par 
ty.  It  is  a  talent  which  characterizes  true  great 
ness,  and  is  as  far  removed  from  the  intrigue  and 
cunning  of  low  politicians,  as  is  the  lofty  ambition 


372          LIFE  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN', 

of  the  patriot  from  the  mean  self-exaltation  of  the 
demagogue. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  about 
the  middle  size  ;  his  form  is  erect  and  slender,  but 
is  said  to  be  capable  of  great  endurance.  His  fea 
tures  are  animated  and  expressive,  especially  the 
eye,  which  is  indicative  of  quick  apprehension  and 
close  observation  ;  his  forehead  exhibits,  in  its  depth 
and  expansion,  the  marks  of  great  intellectual  pow 
er.  The  physiognomist  would  accord  to  him  pen 
etration,  quickness  of  apprehension,  and  benevo 
lence  of  disposition.  The  phrenologist  would  add, 
unusual  reflective  faculties,  firmness,  and  caution.* 

If  the  advancement  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  be  desti 
ned  to  terminate  at  the  present  point,  he  will  leave 
behind  him  a  reputation  which  rarely  falls  to  the 
lot  of  any  man.  To  have  risen  from  the  humble 
walks  of  life,  in  times  of  peace,  by  his  own  unaided 
exertions,  to  the  second  office  in  the  gift  of  a  great 
nation,  will  be  fame  enough  to  satisfy  reasonable 
ambition.  "  The  past,  at  least,  is  secure."  He 
has  already  raised  a  monument  of  his  genius  and 
exertions,  which  will  defy  the  corroding  tooth  of 
time.  He  has  enrolled  his  name  among  the  most 
illustrious  statesmen  of  the  age  and  nation.  He 
has  illustrated,  in  his  own  example,  the  happy  na 
ture  of  our  institutions,  which  afford  so  free  a  field 
for  the  expansion  of  talent,  however  humble  its 
origin,  and  which  insure  to  integrity  arid  persever 
ance,  a  just  and  generous  reward. 

*  The  portrait  engraved  for  this  volume,  by  an  artist  of  well 
known  eminence,  is  from  a  picture  of  Inman,  painted  for  the  cor- 
doration  of  the  city  of  New  York. 


NOTE.  A  slight  inaccuracy  was  observed  in  the  former 
part  of  Chapter  VII.  too  late  for  correction  in  the  text.  The 
articles  signed  Amicus  Juris  Consultus  related,  chiefly,  to  "  a  bill 
for  the  encouragement  of  privateering  associations;" — a  war 
measure,  of  the  same  energetic  stamp  with  the  Classification  Bill. 
The  latter,  though  drawn  up  and  sustained  by  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
was  defended  against  the  objections  which  originated  in  the 
Council  of  Revision,  by  the  articles  signed"  Juris  Consultus." 


The  following  are  some  of  the  notices  of  thejirst  edition 

of  Holland's  Life  of  Van  Buren. 
From  the  Washington  Globe,  Feb.  17^,  1836* 

"  THIS  acceptable  volume,  we  did  not  receive,  until  af 
ter  the  commencement  of  this  session  of  Congress;  and 
since  then,  pressure  of  business  has  prevented  our  notice 
of  it.  This  we  the  less  regret,  as  it  has  been  very  gener 
ally  and  favorably  introduced  to  the  public  by  the  Demo 
cratic  papers  of  the  country. 

It  is  a  neat  duodecimo  volume,  of  364  pages,  into  which 
the  author — an  accomplished  scholar  and  civilian — has 
compressed  much  interesting  political  history,  together 
with  notices  of  the  principal  events  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren.  It  is  written  in  a  vigorous,  manly  style,  with 
great  candor,  and  free  from  the  spirit  of  a  partizan ;  and 
rather  with  a  view,  as  the  author  observes,  'to  display  the 
spirit  and  principles  of  the  Republican  party  in  this  coun 
try,  and  to  exhibit,  by  the  history  of  an  individual,  the  na 
ture  of  the  relation  which  that  party  sustains  to  its  public 
men,'  than  '  to  contribute  to  the  political  elevation  of 


anv  man.' 

ri 


The  early  and  professional  life  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  is 
first  given,  and  then  his  progress  from  an  obscure  attorney 
in  a  small  town,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  to  his  present 
elevated  situation. 

Through  the  whole  of  his  brilliant  career,  the  reader 
cannot  fail  to  observe  the  greatest  industry  and  persever 
ance,  with  constant  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  people 
and  to  the  great  principles  of  Democracy. 

We  wish  the  work  an  extensive  circulation,  and  re- 
ccxrnmend  it,  in  strong  terms,  to  all  those  who  wish  to  learn 
the  truth  respecting  the  political  course  and  opinions  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren.  This,  they_wijl  be  enabled  to  do,  by  the* 
copious^extracts  from  the  speeches_and«.wj^tiQg§  of  this 
distinguished  stafesman.  "In  addition  to  particulars  rela 
ting  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  the  work  abounds  with  the  most 
sound  and  radically  JJemocratic  doctrines,  well  worthy 
the  attention  of  the  reader.  We  hope,  hereafter  to  find 
room  for  further  notice  of  the  volume  and  extracts  from 
it ;  particularly  from  the  third  chapter,  '  On  the  origin  of 
the  two  great  political  parties  in  this  country' — and  al 
so  from  the  nineteenth  chapter;  '  On  the  pernicious  ef 
fects  of  incorporated  Banking  companies  in  the  United 
States;'  both  of  which,  are  worthy  of  frequent  perusa^ 
and  perpetual  remembrance," 


HOLLAND'S  LIFE  OF 

From  the  Albany  Argus. 

"  WE  have  been  remiss  in  saying  of  this  work,  that  it 
fulfils  the  highest  expectations  of  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  'life  and  opinions'  of  the  eminent  subject  of  the 
memoir.  It  traces  the  personal  character  of  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren,  with  candor  and  accuracy  ;  and,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  copious  extracts  from  his  speeches  and  public 
writings,  is  by  far  the  best,  if  not  the  only  connected  ex 
position  of  his  political  opinions.  To  the  high  qualities 
of  impartial  truth  and  justice,  it  adds  the  charm  of  a  pure, 
vigorous  and  manly  style.  It  is  full,  without  being  min 
ute  ;  and  clever,  without  parade  or  pretension. 

The  author  is  obviously  of  the  old  republican  school. 
Ultra  indeed,  in  some  respects;  but  sound,  clear,  and  true 
to  the  principles  of  tbe  Democracy.  Except  in  the  wri 
tings  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  in  the  speech  of  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren  on  the  power  of  the  Vice  President  to  call  to  order, 
we  dp  not  recollect  1o  have  read,  any  where,  a  clearer  ex 
position  of  the  origin  of  parties,  or  to  have  seen  the  dis 
tinction  taken  with  greater  fidelity,  between  the  princi 
ples  and  governing  views  which,  however  obscured  by 
circumstances  or  concealed  by  design,  so  radically  divide 
the  Democracy  and  Aristocracy  of  this  country.  Upon 
this  subject,  we  have  ventured  to  copy  several" passages 
from  the  work,  as  illustrative  of  the  author's  manner,  and 
of  his  own  and  Mr.  Van  Buren's  political  opinions. 

To  those  who  love  to  trace  the  career  of  an  eminent 
citizen,  from  humble  beginnings,  surrounded  by  obstacles, 
and  menaced  by  a  powerful  and  proscribing  hostility, 
through  all  the  gradations  of  personal  and  public  exertion, 
rapid  and  upward,  to  a  position  before  the  American  peo 
ple  of  enviable  honor  and  just  renown,  this  work  will 
come  with  more  than  ordinary  attractions.  The  remark 
is  not  Jess  applicable  to  those  who  do  not  fail  to  see  in  the 
life  and  character  of  the  Vice  President  an  illustration  of 
the  theory  of  our  form  of  government ;  of  the  moral  and 
political  beauty  of  its  practical  results;  and  of  the  certain 
ty  with  which  a  republican  and  intelligent  people,  sustain, 
cherish  and  elevate  those  whom  they  delight  to  honor  ; 
for  their  tried  worth  and  capacity,  their  unsullied  integri 
ty,  and  their  fidelity  to  the  great  principles  of  civil  liberty. 

This  work  is  for  sale  at  the  several  bookstores,  and  we 
could  wish  that  it  might  be  read,  not  only  by  the  political 
friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  but,  with  candor,  by  those,  who, 
although  not  violent  partizans,  have  been  found  heretofore 
among  his  opponents." 


VAN  BUREN. 

From  the  Boston  Morning  Post. 

"  HOLLAND'S  LIFE  OF  VAN  BUREN.  A  valuable  work 
which  should  and  will  have  an  extensive  sale,  particular 
ly  among  the  members  of  the  Democratic  party.  It  is 
written  in  a  vigorous  and  pleasing  style,  and  is  a  fair  and 
candid  history  of  one  of  the  most  enterprising,  talented 
and  successful  statesmen  of  the  present  day.  The  biog 
rapher  begins  with  the  humble  attorney  of  Kinderhook, 
and  follows  him,  in  his  rapid  and  brilliant  career,  to  the 
Vice  Presidency  of  the  United  States.  *  *  *  This  work 
also  contains  a  critical  examination  of  the  historical  ori 
gin  of  the  two  great  political  parties,  in  which  the  dis 
tinctive  features  of  each  are  clearly  defined,  and  which 
must  prove  useful  to  every  attentive  reader.  *  *  * 

"  In  conclusion,  we  most  sincerely  commend  this  vol 
ume  to  the  perusal  of  j?very  individual  searcher  after  the 
truth  in  relation  to  Mr.  Van  Buren.  *  *  *  No  man  stands 
less  in  need  of  eulogy  than  he  does.  All  his  friends  ask, 
is,  that  he  may  be  judged  of  fairly  and  impartially  ;  con 
fident  that  his  career,  thus  far,  will  bear  the  most  rigid 
test,  and  come  out  from  the  most  rigid  ordeal,  more  daz 
zling  and  resplendent  than  ever." 

From  the  Utica  Observer. 

"  THIS  is  no  catch-penny  production  ;  it  is  the  work  of 
a  man  of  talents  and  education ;  and  possesses  superior 
claims  to  public  favor  and  patronage.  From  it,  all  may 
learn  the  past  history  of  one,  who,  at  this  time,  occupies  a 
most  important  position  before  the  people;  and  whose 
life  has  been  a  series  of  successful  and  honorable  efforts, 
to  advance  their  true  interests  and  to  win  for  himself  their 
approbation  and  esteem,  ^Those  who  are  desirous  to  ob 
tain  correct  knowledge  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  to  become  ac 
quainted  with  his  opinions  upon  all  the  great  questions 
which  have  divided  public  sentiment,  may  satisfy  their  cu 
riosity  by  consulting  the  work;  and  if  we  are  not  great 
ly  mistaken,  no  individual  will  rise  from  its  perusal, 
without  an  enhanced  good  will  toward  the  Vice  Presi 
dent,^  he  be  his  friend,  and  if  his  opponent,  without  feel 
ing  a  deep  conviction  of  the  injustice  of  the  charges  which 
have  so  often  been  made  against  him.  *  * 

The  book  contains  an  admirable  likeness  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren.  We  advise  his  friends  to  buy  it,  because  they 
can  read  it  with  pride,  approbation  and  profit ; — we  advise 
his  opponents  to  buy  it,  because  if  it  do  not  produce  their 

A* 


HOLLAND'S  LIFE  OF 

conversion,  it  will  most  inevitably  greatly  soften  the  pre 
judices  which  misrepresentation  has  caused  them  to  en 
tertain  against  him  ;  and  furthermore,  because,  no  one 
should  be  ignorant  of  the  true  character  of  so  distinguish 
ed  a  statesman  of  our  own  country — one  so  soon  in  all 
probability  destined  to  fill  the  first  office  in  the  nation." 

From  the  Baltimore  Republican. 
THE  Baltimore  republican  of  Dec.  7th,  1835,  contained 
an  able  and  elaborate  analysis  of  the  volume,  which  ex 
tended  through  several  columns.     We  make  the  follow 
ing  brief  extracts. 

*  *  "We  rejoice  at  this  publication  of  the  Life  of 
Martin  Van  Buren.  All  may  now  learn  the  past  history 
of  one  who  stands  in  the  most  enviable  position  before  a 
people  who  can  well  appreciate  long  tried  and  unyielding 
devotion  to  their  true  interests,  and  who,  whatever  may  be 
the  opinions  and  hopes  of  some,  are  not  to  be  deceived  by 
vague  charges,  or  led  astray  by  idle  and  malicious  accu 
sations." 

(After  an  elaborate  examination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
opinions  on  all  leading  political  questions,  the  Reviewer 
proceeds : — ) 

"  We  have  confined  our  notice  of  Mr.  Holland's  work 
to  what  we  conceive  to  be  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the 
Democratic  party  ;  for  the  special  purpose  of  laying  before 
our  readers  such  evidence  as  party  violence  cannot  gain 
say,  to  show,  that  on  all  these  points,  Mr.  Van  Buren  has 
frankly,  explicitly  and  repeatedly  expressed  his  opinion. 
*  *  We  have  drawn  our  extracts  from  a  mass  of  similar 
evidence,  as  fully  as  the  limits  of  a  newspaper  article 
would  permit.  But  to  read  them  in  all  their  force,  and  in 
connection  with  much  interesting  matter  in  relation  to 
other  coincident  principles  of  our  government,  the  book  it 
self  must  be  referred  to.  *  *  We  must  now  bring  our  no 
tice  to  a  conclusion,  only  regretting  that  we  have  been  for 
ced  to  confine  ourselves  to  a  mere  intimation  of  the  valua 
ble  matter  contained  in  this  excellent  volume,  so  well 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  politician,  to  the  illustration 
of  the  principles  of  our  institutions  and  to  the  spirit  of  the 
age.  *  *  Mr.  Holland  has  shown  an  admirable  talent  as 
an  author.  As  a  writer,  his  language  is  pure,  clear  and 
forcible.  His  taste  is  sound  and  healthful,  and  republi 
can,  in  its  manliness  and  simplicity.  As  a  literary  work, 


VAN  BUREN. 

this  volume  may  be  referred  to  by  all;  as  a  political  one, 
our  friends  should  read  it  with  pride;  and  our  opponents, 
without  hoping  for  their  conversion,  may  peruse  it  too, 
and  at  least  learn  silence.  The  work  is  beautifully  print 
ed  and  ornamented  with  an  admirable  portrait.  It  is  the 
best  likeness  we  have  seen  of  Mr.  Van  Buren." 

From  the  Hampden  Whig,  Springfield,  Mass. 
"  WE  have  derived  very  great  pleasure  from  perusing 
the  life  of  Martin  Van  Buren  by  William  M.  Holland  of 
Hartford.  It  is  an  authentic  narrative,  wrought  from  ma 
terials  most  of  which  are  before  the  public,  written  in 
a  chaste  and  beautiful  style  and  breathing  the  true  spirit 
of  sound,  uncompromising  Democracy. 

We  are  gratified  at  this  production  on  many  accounts. 
It  is  a  token  of  the  progress  of  Democracy.  The  work 
comes  not  from  an  individual  who  can  be  charged  with 
ignorance  or  with  sinister  purposes.  The  author  is  dis 
tinguished  alike  for  his  acquisitions  as  a  scholar,  and  his 
virtues  as  a  private  man.  Our  colleges  are  generally  es 
teemed  adverse  to  Democracy.  This  work  emanates  from 
a  highly  valued  professor,  whose  talents  and  fidelity  have 
eminently  contributed  to  the  elevation  of  the  institution 
to  which' he  is  attached.  *  *  Again  we  are  highly  grati 
fied  with  this  volume  from  the  manner  in  which  it  repre 
sents  the  public  character  of  our  distinguished  fellow-citi 
zen,  who  is  a  candidate  before  the  people  for  the  highest 
office  in  their  gift.  There  is  nothing  of  fulsome  flattery; 
nothing  of  labored  panegyric  ;  nothing  of  idolatrous  man- 
worship.  The  writer  simply  gives  a  narrative  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  career.  The  great  questions  which  have  been 
agitated  during  Mr.  Van  Buren's  political  life  are  ex- 
pTained  ;  and  his  opinions  on  them  all  are  given  in  his 
own  language,  in  extracts  from  his  published  speeches. 
Nothing  is  omitted.  The  record  goes  back  to  his  first  en 
trance  into  public  life  and  continues  to  the  present  time. 
And  mark  the  result.  Consistency  is,  in  a  republic,  the 
first  virtue  ;  and  in  Mr.  Van  Buren's  career  there  has  been 
such  noble  consistency,  that  there  is  not  the  least  collis 
ion  of  opinion,  not  the  slightest  clashing  of  arguments, 
but  on  the  contrary  his  various  speeches  constitute  a  har 
monious  whole  ;  one  uniform  testimony  to  the  same  great 
truths;  and  his  opinions,  as  they  have  from  time  to  time 
been  expressed,  form  a  text  of  Democracy." 


HOLLAND'S  LIFE  OF 

From  the  Nashville   Union. 

"THIS  book  ought  to  be  generally  circulated  and  carefuf- 
ly  read,  by  the  American  people." 

From  the  Buffalo  Republican. 

"  WHEN  we  look  into  this  work,  we  are  astonished  that 
the  enemies  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  should  ever  associate  his 
name  with  the  charge  of  being  a  non-committal  politi 
cian." 

From  the  Pennsylvania!!. 

11 A  work  entitled  the  Life  and  Political  Opinions  of 
Martin  Van  Buren,  by  William  M.  Holland,  has  just  been 
published  by  Belknap  and  Hamersley  of  Hartford.  It  is 
precisely  the  work  which  has,  for  sometime  been  desired 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  giving  a  clear  and 
connected  narrative  of  the  course  of  this  distinguished 
Statesman,  from  early  life  down  to  the  present  time,  and 
laying  his  public  conduct  open  to  their  notice  and  judg 
ment.  The  author  has  devoted  himself  to  the  task  with 
great  industry  ;  and  has  performed  it  so  well,  and  in  a 
style  so  agreeable,  that  the  reader  is  borne  onward,  with 
intense  interest,  in  tracing  Mr.  Van  Buren's  rapid  pro 
gress,  from  a  student  of  law  to  his  present  attitude,  as  the 
favorite  candidate  of  the  people  for  the  highest  -honors 
which  they  can  bestow.  Setting  aside  political  consider 
ations,  it  is  a  work  fraught  with  the  most  useful  lessons 
to  the  youth  of  our  country  ;  narrating  as  it  does  the  tri 
umphs  of  untiring  industry  and  perseverance  in  raising 
the  subject  of  it,  from  poverty  and  obscurity,  to  the  loftiest 
position  which  an  American  can  reach. 

The  volume  is  very  neatly  got  up,  and  is  embellished 
with  one  of  the  best  portraits  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  that  we 
have  ever  seen." 

From  the  Free  Press  and  Boston  Advocate,  (Anti-ma 
sonic.} 

"  WE  are  obliged  to  the  publishers,  Belknap  and  Ham 
ersley,  for  this  neat  and  exceedingly  well  written  volume. 
*  *  *  Mr.  Holland  is  as  sound  a  Democrat,  as  he  is  an 
accomplished  scholar.  He  has  sketched  the  life  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  with  evident  partiality  fqr  the  man  ;  but  it  is 
also  a  partiality  evidently  lounged  upojajm  attachment  to 


VAN  BUREN. 

the  principles  he  embodies,  as  the  head  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  not  upon  mere  personal  devotion.  It  is  im 
possible  for  any  honest  man,  opposed  to  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
to  read  this  well  written  book,  without  feeling  his  preju 
dices  yielding  every  moment  to  respect  for  the  man.  We 
ask,  where  are  the  evidences  of  all  the  cunning  and  in 
trigue  and  duplicity  which  have  been  so  regularly  as 
cribed,  by  his  opponents,  to  this  eminent  citizen?  If  the 
author  has  concealed  them  here,  where  can  others  point 
them  out?  We  have  heard  much  on  this  subject,  but 
have  seen  little  proof.  Wherein  is  Mr.  Van  Buren  less 
frank  in  his  opinions,  than  an  equally  eminent  citizen, 
whom  we  would  always  name  with  respect, — Daniel 
Webster?  *  * 

We  ask  candid  men  to  lay  aside  their  party  spectacles 
for  a  moment,  and  read  Mr.  Holland's  truly  republican 
book  ?  They  will  find  it  difficult  to  escape  from  the  con 
viction,  that  nearly  all  the  clamor  against  Mr.  Van  Buren 
is  sheer,  political  prejudice  and  party  rancor.  *  *  Read 
Mr.  Holland's  book,  and  throw  aside  political  bigotry, 
you  can  respect  the  man  without  being  obliged  to  vote  for 
him." 

From  the  Bridgeport  (Ccmn.)*  Farmer. 

"  So  far  as  we  have  read,  the  style  of  the  author  is  easy, 
philosophical  and  persuasive.  The  beauty  of  the  compo 
sition,  however,  is  the  least  recommendation  of  the"  work. 
The  sound  political  maxims  and  the  forcible  illustrations 
of  important  truths,  interspersed  with  the  narration  of 
facts  relating  to  him,  of  whom  the  history  is  written,  add 
surpassingly  to  the  value  of  the  work. 

This  book  is  one  which  should  be  read  by  every  man, 
and  especially  by  those  who  are  entering  on  the  active 
duties  of  life.  A  better  example  can  hardly  be  set  before 
them.  *  *  We  commend  the  work  to  the  attention  of  all 
both  friend  and  foe  to  Mr.  Van  Buren." 

From  the   Worcester  Republican. 

"WE  have  read  a  portion  of  this  able  and  interesting 
work.  It  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  prepared 
with  care  and  discrimination,  and  is  just  the  work  which 
the  public  need  at  the  present  time,  when  so  much  is  said 
about  the  distinguished  individual  whose  life  and  opinions 
this  work  presents  to  the  public.  Let  every  one  who  has 
ever  doubted  th/it  Martin  Van  Buren  is  a  straight-forward, 


HOLLAND'S  LIFE  OF 

consistent  and  upright  Statesman,  read  this  work  and  he 
will  find  it  contains  the  documents  and  facts  which  will 
dissipate  all  doubts,  and  show  the  firm,  decided  and  con 
sistent  course  which  has  been  pursued  by  Mr.  Van  Buren 
from  his  earliest  entrance  into  political  life."  *  *  *  * 

From  the  Hartford  Patriot  and  Democrat. 

"  THE  author,  (of  this  biography,)  is  well  calculated  to 
produce  such  a  work.  He  has  sought  the  most  authentic 
sources  of  information  and  has  given  a  faithful  and  im 
partial  history  of  the  Vice  President's  political  life  and 
opinions.  *  *  *  The  views  of  the  author  are  radically 
Democratic.  He  vindicates  the  right  and  capacity  of  the 
common  people,  (as  they  are  called,)  to  govern  them 
selves,  and  asserts  that  their  will  is  the  only  standard  of 
truth  in  politics.  *  *  *  * 

Many  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  government 
are  discussed  in  various  parts  of  the  work ;  and  the  De 
mocratic  view  of  our  public  policy  is  strongly  vindicated. 
The  work  is  replete  with  historical  facts,  and  such  a  book 
as  should  be  read  by  every  young  American  ;  in  short,  a 
text  book  of  Democracy. 

The  work  is  written  in  a  vigorous,  yet  easy  and  pleas 
ing  style,  and  with  a  candor  and  firmness  characteristic 
of  the  author.  *  *  Every  Democrat  should  possess  him 
self  of  this  volume." 

From  the  New  York  Times. 

"  THE  enemies  of  Martin  Van  Buren  have  alleged  that 
his  political  course  has  been  dark,  crooked  and  perplexed  I 
and  that,  however  he  may  have  distinguished  himself  as  a 
successful  politician,  the  solid  qualities  of  a  statesman 
form  no  part  of  his  character.  *  *  *  The  book  before  us 
gives  a  full  and  perfect  refutation  of  all  these  charges.  It 
proves  from  facts,  drawn  from  authentic  political  history, 
from  records  that  cannot  lie,  that  the  distinguished  indi 
vidual  whose  life  and  political  opinions  it  describes,  has 
made  his  name  a  part  of  the  principal  political  events 
which  have  transpired  since  he  first  commenced  a  public 
career.  The  book  is  not  written  in  a  spirit  ofpartizan- 
ship,  nor  has  it  been  the  design  of  the  author  merely  to 
contribute  to  the  political  elevation  of  any  man.  He  has, 
sought  to  display  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  republi 
can  party  in  this  country,  by  the  history  of  an  individual, 
intimately  connected  with  the  party,  and  now  its  candi- 


VAN  BUREN. 

date  for  the  highest  honor  the  people  can  bestow.  *  *  * 
In  a  word,  the  whole  political  career  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  is 
here  clearly  developed  ;  and  the  enemies  of  that  distin 
guished  man  may,  here,  tind  a  refutation  of  all  the  charges 
which  have  been  brought  against  him.  *  *  It  is  written  m 
the  spirit  of  candor  and  fairness,  in  a  clear  and  succinct 
style?' 

From  the  same. 

"  IT  is  not  often  that  we  agree  with  the  Star,  in  mat 
ters  connected  with  politics  or  public  men.  That  paper 
desires  that  the  Life  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  just  published, 
shall  be  read  by  every  man  in  the  land.  So  say  we.  Buy 
it  read  it,  and  then  make  up  your  minds  whether  the 
man,  whose  character  it  describes,  is  justly  liable  to  the 
censure  heaped  on  him  by  the  whig  presses.  The  style 
and  o-eneraltone  of  the  book  are  unexceptionable.  Ihe 
Star  approves  of  the  former,  and  justly  speaks  of  the  au 
thor  as  a  man  of  taste  and  talent." 

From  the  Columbian  (New  Haven,)  Register. 
"  So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  examine  this  work,  it 
appears  to  be  a  valuable  exposition  of  the  principal  inci 
dents  in  the  life  of  this  distinguished  statesman ;  written 
in  a  vigorous  and  perspicuous  style.  It  reads  like  the 
production  of  a  philosophical  and  discriminating  mind,  and 
of  a  devoted  republican.  *  *  * 

This  work  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  Democrat 
in  the  country.  Every  young  man,  no  matter  what  his 
politics,  would  derive  instruction  from  the  perusal  of  it. 
The  author  has  treated  the  subject  with  the  utmost  im 
partiality  ;  and  the  history  of  this  distinguished  statesman 
is  fully  and  fairly  given.  '  Aside  from  this,  it  is  valuable 
as  a  text  book,  and  the  reader  cannot  fail  of  gaining  from 
it  a  clear  and  concise  history  of  Democracy  and  Feder 
alism  ;  the  two  great  parties  which  now  agitate  the 
country." 

From  the  New    Yorker— a  miscellaneous  and  literary 

paper,  neutral  in  politics. 

'•  WE  find  on  our  table,  a  fair  seeming  duodecimo  of 
364  pao-es,  claiming  a  perusal  and  a  place  in  our  notices 
of  new  publications.  The  cursory  examination  which 
we  have  been  enabled  to  bestow  upon  it,  has  impressed 


HOLLAND'S  LIFE    OF   VAN  BUREN. 

us  with  a  high  opinion  of  the  talents  and  tact,  as  well  as 
ardent  zeal  of  its  author.  We  speak  of  the  work  as  that 
of  an  avowed  and  unhesitating  admirer  and  partizan  ;  for 
such  it  professedly  is;  and  such  alone,  or  its  direct  oppo 
site,  can  be  expected  in  this  crisis  of  the  fortunes  of  the 
distinguished  subject  of  the  memoir.  *  *  Viewing  the 
work,  therefore,  in  the  only  light  in  which  we  are  permit 
ted  to  regard  it,  we  pronounce  the  Vice  President  highly 
fortunate  in  having  such  a  biographer ;  and  the  party 
whose  interests  it  is  destined  to  subserve,  under  weighty 
obligations  to  his  gifted  pen.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  career, 
from  infancy  to  ripened  manhood — from  poverty  to  afflu 
ence — from  obscurity  to  his  present  towering  elevation — 
is  depicted,  not  only  with  the  warm  coloring  of  a  eulogist, 
but  the  skill  of  a  master.  *  *  *  We  have  spoken  of  this 
memoir  as  the  production  of  a  partizan  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  ; 
and  as  such,  commending  itself  to  the  especial,  if  not  ex 
clusive  favor  of  those  of  like  sentiments.  Justice  to  the 
author  impels  us  to  add,  that  it  is  disfigured  by  nothing  of 
the  violence,  and  little  of  the  asperity  of  party  rancor. 
The  writer,  indeed,  speaks  of  those  who  have  been  op 
posed  to  the  subject  of  his  memoir,  as  the  aristocracy, 
enemies  of  the  people's  rights,  distrusters  of  their  capaci 
ty  for  self-government,  &c.  as  a  matter  of  course.  But 
the  whole  is  conducted  with  general  good  temper;  and 
the  language  is  uniformly  that  of  a  scholar  and  gentle 
man." 

The  following  is  from  Walshes  National  Gazette;  an 
opposition  paper. 

"  Party  History  is  probably  as  familiar  to  us  as  most 
other  public  writers ;  but  with  regard  to  what  is  called 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  non-committal  system,  we  are  better  ac 
quainted  with  the  charge  than  the  proof.  The  extracts 
which  are  skilfully  introduced  into  Professor  Holland's 
volume,  convey  unequivocal  opinions  on  nearly  all  the 
rife  public  questions.  There  is  less  of  real  frankness  in 
the  two  responses  of  General  Harrrison  to  the  Anti- 
masons  than  in  Mr.  Van  Buren's  epistles." 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 

Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall.' 


12  PM  6  1 


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General  Library 

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U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


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